Family First Ch. 03

Diane spent the rest of her day in a funk. She couldn't stop thinking about how poorly things had gone with Mary that afternoon. Not only had she ruined her relationship with her sister-in-law and closest friend, but she also worried that what she'd done would shatter her newfound closeness with her daughter. There was her husband, Ray, to consider as well. She knew it wasn't right to keep this all a secret from him.

It wasn't just guilt that plagued Diane's thoughts, though. There was anger as well. Why did Mary have to be so uptight and inflexible all the time? She wondered if Mary would have reacted the same way if she'd seen how happy Christina had been the night before. She felt like Mary was making her choose between their friendship and the happiness of her daughter. After all the times Diane had been there for her, it hurt knowing that her best friend was willing to throw their relationship away so easily.

As Diane reminisced about their friendship, her mind flashed back to the last time they'd had a major fight, nearly ten years ago. Mary had come over with the same tense expression on her face that Diane had seen earlier that afternoon, but she wouldn't tell her what was wrong. Finally, after much coaxing and cajoling, Mary told Diane that her husband, Tim, had suggested they start experimenting with an open marriage.

He'd recently taken a sales manager position that nearly doubled his annual salary. The only downside was that he had to spend long stretches of time meeting with clients in the city, which was a three hour drive away. The time apart had taken a toll on their love-life, and eventually, Tim floated the idea of them each being free to enjoy the company of others when they couldn't be together. Mary, being the conservative housewife she was, had absolutely no interest in sleeping with other men. By the time she finished telling her story, she was practically in tears.

Diane was furious. She knew that Tim could be insensitive, sometimes obnoxious, but this was too much to bear. In her mind, there was only one thing Mary should do: leave him.

Despite being hurt and upset, Mary wasn't ready to go that far. When she balked at the suggestion, Diane pressed the issue, insisting that Tim had no right to victimize her, that it was the only sane thing to do for herself and the children, and that she'd do the same if Ray ever tried to pull something like that.

She was surprised when Mary stood her ground, insisting that there was no way she was going to break up her family. The two of them bickered back and forth a bit before Mary finally stormed off, even more upset than when she'd arrived.

The two of them barely spoke for nearly a month before Ray, of all people, convinced Diane that it was time to make peace with the fact that she couldn't control every aspect of Mary's life, no matter how strongly she felt. Mary, of course, accepted her apology. She also told Diane that she'd decided to go along with Tim's suggestion with the understanding that he'd be safe, she never had to hear any details about what he was up to, and that he always came home ready and willing to fulfill her own sexual needs.

Diane was disappointed, but knew that Ray was right. It wasn't her place to judge. It took quite a bit longer for her anger at Tim to subside. Eventually, though, she had to admit to herself that if Mary hadn't told her what was going on, she would have no idea that Tim was seeing other women on the side. He remained as loving and caring of a father and husband as he'd always been.

As far as Diane knew, their open marriage was still a going concern, nearly a decade later. In fact, Tim was currently away on business and wouldn't be back for a few days. Diane wondered whether he wasn't balls deep in some random woman at that very moment.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of keys jangling at the front door, followed by Christina's voice shouting, "I'm home!"

Diane buried her face in the couch cushion and groaned. She was absolutely not ready to face her daughter. She broke out in a cold sweat in anticipation of the verbal barrage she'd receive when Christina found out that her secret had been revealed.

"Is anyone home?"

Her voice was getting closer to the living room, and Diane finally flipped over on her back, making a meager, and largely unsuccessful attempt at composing herself. "In here," she called back.

When Christina turned the corner into the living room, her bright smile faded almost immediately. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I look that bad, huh?" Diane replied, hoping her sardonic smile would mask her despair.

"Did something happen? You look like you've been crying."

"No--I'm fine. I just had a long and stressful meeting with a client, and I've been feeling out of it ever since. I'll be alright. No need to worry."

"Can I get you anything? tea? hot chocolate?" Christina offered.

"No thanks. I need to start making Dinner anyways," she said, moving to get out of the couch. "Why don't you go get started on your homework. I'll let you know when it's ready."

"Okay... Sounds good. Let me know if you want to talk about... Well, you know."

"Maybe later," Diane replied, no longer able to muster any enthusiasm for the topic. She knew she couldn't avoid talking with Christina forever, but she just wasn't ready... not yet, anyways.

Diane worked mindlessly on dinner, and she was practically silent through the entire meal. It was obvious to both Ray and Christina that something was wrong. Usually Diane was the most talkative one at the table, always wanting to know every little detail of their day. Tonight, though, they could barely get two words out of her.

After everyone had eaten, Christina went off to her room to play her video-games, leaving Ray and Diane alone to clean the dishes. This was usually their special time together, a moment or two for them to simply enjoy each other's company, free from the kids and their other various responsibilities. Diane knew that Ray would be waiting to hear what was on her mind, but she couldn't bring herself to speak.

After ten minutes of complete silence, Ray finally couldn't take it anymore. "Look, you don't have to tell me if you're not ready, but I see that something's bothering you. You've been acting strange ever since last night. Why don't you tell me what's on your mind."

Diane winced as she remembered her unusual behavior the night before. She wanted so badly to tell him everything, but she couldn't stand the thought of him being upset with her. Not after everything she'd already gone through.

She struggled to meet his eyes, but was glad she made the effort. When she saw the look of pure love and concern on his face, she knew that she didn't have anything to fear. No matter what hardships they'd faced over the years, Ray had always supported her completely. In her anxiety over the situation with Mary, she'd somehow managed to lose sight of that fact.

With a sigh of relief, she started to speak, only to be interrupted by the telephone ringing. It was Mary.

Ray was closer to the phone and reached for it, but Diane nearly barrelled him over trying to grab it first. "I'll get it," she insisted, pushing him aside and grabbing for the receiver.

"Hi Mary. What's up?" she asked, doing her best to maintain an even, neutral tone. Ray's brow furrowed in suspicion before he shrugged and went back to drying the dishes.

"I need to talk to you about this afternoon. Are you free?" Mary asked.

"I was just about to have a conversation with Ray, but I can spare a few minutes."

"Okay. Meet me in my garage. I don't want Danny overhearing us."

"Sounds good," Diane replied, hanging up the receiver. Turning to Ray, she said, "I need to go talk to Mary about something. Can we put this conversation on hold for a bit longer?"

"Fine. No problem," Ray replied, doing his best to hide his obvious frustration over her erratic behavior. Diane felt guilty for leaving him hanging, but she knew it would be easier to talk with him once the situation with Mary was resolved.

As Diane put on her shoes and walked across the yard, she tried to predict what Mary would have to say. She hoped that her sister-in-law had calmed down a bit. She wasn't sure her nerves could handle a repeat of their earlier confrontation.

Mary and Tim's garage had a side-door leading out to the back yard that they left unlocked most of the time. When Diane stepped inside, she saw that Mary was sitting in the back seat of their family sedan. With a curious frown, she walked around to the other side and climbed in.

"It's so Danny can't listen in," Mary said, before Diane had a chance to ask.

Diane nodded. "Makes sense. So what did you want to talk to me about?"

Mary cheeks flushed and she looked down at her feet, unable to meet Diane's eyes. For several awkward moments, the two of them sat there in utter silence while Mary worked up the courage to speak her mind.

With a frustrated sigh, Diane said, "Look, I have two more long, awkward conversations to look forward to tonight. Whatever it is you have to say, either say it, or let me know when you're actually ready to talk, because I don't have time for this right now."

Her sharp response broke Mary out of her stupor. "I... I wanted to apologize to you," she said. "It wasn't right for me to yell at you like that. I know you didn't want to break Christina's trust, and I also know you weren't trying to hurt me. It was just so unexpected... and well... I panicked."

Diane breathed a mental sigh of relief. "It's okay. I'm sorry too. I never meant to keep this from you. I just didn't know what else to do. There's not exactly protocol for this kind of thing, I guess."

Her comment caused them both to chuckle, which lightened the mood considerably. "It is rather unusual," Mary said. "I still have no idea what I'm going to say to Danny about it, much less Tim."

"Me either," Diane admitted. "Are you still going to tell Danny that he has to end it?"

"No. I don't think so," Mary replied, sounding more than a little unsure of herself. "There's nothing I can do about it, anyways. Like you said, they're going to be alone together at college soon enough, and it's not like we can be there to look over their shoulders every second of the day. I wouldn't want to, even if I could."

"So, what changed your mind?"

Mary hesitated yet again, before mumbling, "I--I don't know. I just thought about what you said about how good they are for each other and realized you were right. It's not my place to stop them from being happy together if that's what they want."

It was obvious to Diane that Mary wasn't being completely forthright. Something, or someone, had changed her mind, and she didn't want to admit it. For a brief moment, Diane thought about letting it drop, but after everything that had happened between them, she had to know what was really behind this sudden change of heart.

"Oh, please. You don't really expect me to buy that, do you?" she asked. "Don't get me wrong. I'm glad you're okay with them being together, but I know you too well to think you'd just change your mind in an instant. What aren't you telling me?"

Mary's cheeks flushed scarlet as Diane's words made her even more flustered. "There's nothing else! Really! It's just weird to be sitting in the back seat of a car, having a rational conversation with you about our kids committing... incest." The word seemed to repulse her. "I just... I just never knew anyone else had those kinds of feelings."

"What do you mean, anyone else?" Diane asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Mary let out a quick gasp, and her hand flew up to cover her mouth, but it was too late. "Um... Nothing," she replied, looking more nervous than ever. "I just misspoke. I meant that I never expected that either of them would be into incest is all."

"You've always been a terrible liar, Mary," Diane said. "Just tell me what you were thinking. You know you can trust me with anything. That should be particularly obvious after what I told you this afternoon."

"It's nothing," Mary insisted, unable to meet her sister-in-law's intense gaze.

"You can't seriously expect me to believe that. You're white as a sheet! After everything I told you today, what could be so bad that you don't want me to know about it?"

Mary gripped the handle of the car door as if she meant to flee but stayed frozen in place. "You're right. I do have a secret, but please don't make me tell you. It's sick, and if you knew the truth, you'd never forgive me. Besides, it has nothing to do with Danny and Christina." By the time she finished speaking, teardrops were beginning to form in the corners of her eyes.

"It's okay, Mary," Diane said, reaching over and rubbing her shoulder. "You're my best friend, and there's nothing you can say that would change that. Clearly something's bothering you, and I think you'll feel better when you get it off of your chest. Now take a deep breath, and tell me what's on your mind."

Mary's shoulders slumped in resignation as she gathered her thoughts. When she finally spoke, her voice was low and shaky, as if she was right on the edge of breaking down completely. "The truth is that ever since you told me about Danny and Christina, I've been thinking about a similar situation I went through when I was their age."

"You lusted after one of your cousins?" Diane asked, barely able to believe what she was hearing.

"Not my cousin... my brother," Mary replied. Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Diane stared back at her in stunned silence as her mind worked on overdrive to process this revelation. "Oh, my god," she said. "Did you sleep with Ray?"

"What!? No!" Mary exclaimed, suddenly indignant. "Of course not!"

"You wanted to, though. Didn't you?" she asked with a sly grin, letting Mary know that she wasn't upset or jealous.

"Yes... I did," Mary replied as tears ran down her cheeks. "I was so terribly shy when we were younger, and Ray was always my closest friend. He was so handsome, and so kind. I knew it was wrong, but I grew up wishing I could have him all to myself. I decided to push those feelings aside when I fell in love with Tim, and it worked... for a while. Now it's all coming back, and I can't stop it!" Unable to keep her composure any longer, Mary started sobbing with frustration and shame. Diane scooted closer, and pulled her into comforting embrace.

As Diane held her, she thought through the implications of Mary's admission. Everything suddenly made so much more sense. Now she understood why Mary had never taken advantage of her open marriage. The only other man she was interested in was Ray.

"It's okay, Mary. I'm not angry or jealous, if that's what you were worrying about," she whispered as she gently ran her fingers through Mary's hair.

"Don't you think I'm a sick freak, though?"

"No! Of course not!" Diane exclaimed. "I'd be one hell of a hypocrite if I did."

Mary pulled back and gave her a confused look. "Reading Christina's diary yesterday made me hornier than I've been in years. I can't stop picturing her and Danny together and wishing I could be there to see it. I know it's nasty and wrong, but somehow that just makes it even more exciting. I guess what I'm saying is that if you're a sick freak, then I'm even worse."

Diane went on to explain how she first became interested in incest as well as her frequent fantasies about John. She even told Mary about the incest stories she'd been reading before their confrontation earlier that afternoon. It felt unbelievably nice to finally get it all off of her chest.

Mary stared dumbly back at her as she spoke. She'd spent so many years convincing herself that she was a horrible person for desiring her own brother that it took her brain a few moments to catch up to the idea that her sister-in-law not only knew her secret, but shared some of the same twisted fantasies. When Diane finally finished talking, a heavy silence settled between them.

Mary was the first to speak. In a halting voice, she said, "So, you would really want to watch Christina and Danny having sex?"

"Wouldn't you? After all, Danny looks just like Ray did at that age. In all honestly, I'd probably want to do more than just watch."

"Jesus, I can't believe this. You would really cheat on Ray with your own nephew... my son?" Mary asked, frowning in some mixture of surprise and disgust. Despite her unhappy expression, her flushed cheeks and the prominent outline or her thick nipples poking through her blouse hinted at an entirely different emotion.

"No. Of course not... but there's no harm in having a few dirty fantasies, right?"

That seemed to calm Mary down a bit. "I suppose not... It's not like I'm one to talk. So you're really not angry with me, then?"

"Not even a little," Diane replied. "I wish you'd told me earlier, but I can see why you wouldn't, especially after how I reacted when you told me about your... arrangement... with Tim."

From the way Mary's eyes dropped, Diane could tell she'd struck a nerve and felt guilty for bringing it up. It did, however, put an interesting idea in her head. Technically, if Mary had sex with Ray, it wouldn't be cheating, at least not as far as Tim was concerned. The real question was whether she'd feel comfortable letting her sister-in-law fuck her husband. She allowed herself to picture the two of them together, Ray between his sister's splayed legs, fucking her while she cried out in ecstasy. As the taboo scene played out in her mind, her nipples hardened and her pussy started getting moist. She knew that if there was any chance of making Mary's fantasies a reality, she had to take it.

After another awkward silence, Diane finally spoke. "I need to ask you something, Mary, and I need you to be completely honest with me."

"Um...okay?" Mary replied, more than a little confused by the excited twinkle in Diane's eyes.

"If you had the opportunity to have sex with Ray, would you take it?"

Mary blushed, but her response came quickly. "It doesn't matter. If there ever was a change for us to be together, it's long gone now."

"What if I helped make an opportunity for you? Would you take it?"

Mary hesitated, unsure how to respond. "Why would you do that?" she finally asked.

"Because watching him fuck you would be such a turn-on. My panties are practically soaked just sitting here thinking about it," she said.

Her instincts told her that now was the time to do something daring before Mary had a chance to talk herself out of saying yes. Without breaking eye-contact, she reached down and unsnapped the clasp on her pants and pulled them down around her knees. Her excitement was immediately obvious by the wet stain in the crotch of her panties and the pleasant scent of her arousal filling the car.

"Diane! What are you doing!?" Mary shrieked, using her hands to cover her eyes.

"I need you to see how turned on I am--how excited it makes me to think about you and Ray getting together." She reasoned that if her plan was ever going to work, Mary would have to get used to the idea of seeing her naked and aroused. This seemed like as good a time as any to test her reaction.

Mary's attempts to look away quickly proved unsuccessful. She stared in wide-eyed fascination as Diane pulled her panties to the side, exposing her drenched slit and rubbing her fingers in slow circles around her opening.

"You never answered my question," Diane said. "If I arranged it for you, would you have sex with your brother?"

There was an almost imperceptible shift in Mary's expression as the full weight of what Diane was suggesting finally hit her. "Yes..." she whispered. "God help me, but nothing would turn me on more."

"Show me!" Diane demanded. "Pull down your pants and show me how much you want to feel my husband's big hard cock in you."