I was becoming a bit irritated at his insinuating that I was some traumatized soul who was unable to think rationally. I responded, “Matt, do you realize how long I have wanted an arrangement like I am proposing?” He shook his head. I then asked, “If you would have found me, would you have risked your life to save me from my kidnapper?” He said he would have. So I asked, “This request does not require you to die, does it?” I paused as he sat in silence and then continued, “Matt, nobody has to know but us, you can do your church, work at your job and do everything you and I have done in the past, as long as nobody finds out.” He asked, “So would you want to live a life of secrecy, always in fear of being found out and being the object of scorn by so many people?” I moved closer to him, gave him a passionate hug, then a kiss, and said, “Honey, as long as we are being honest with each other, maybe I need to be honest with you.”
I then admitted, “You are my husband and always will be. However, Nicole is my closest friend in all respects…and I mean all respects!” He asked, “All respects?” I replied, “I love her with all my heart…and I mean that just like you love all three of our children with all your heart. It’s just…I love her beyond the conventional sense. He was obviously puzzled. He finally asked, “So are you saying that you love one another beyond just friends?” I nodded my head and said, “Yes.” He then asked, “So you two are lesbians?” I had to slap my fists down on my knees and scream out in exasperation, “No! Why does everyone just assume that?” Matt started to laugh, to which I asked, “What’s so funny?” He said, “Well sorry my dear, but when you say you in a relationship with another woman it kind of sounds lesbian in a way, doesn’t it?” It seemed ironic but his reply sort of cut the tension out of the moment. I started to laugh and said, “I would think after four years of marriage and three kids you would know that I like guys…too.”
Matt sat back and asked, “So let me try to make sense out of this – you are in love with me, and you are in love with Nicole, right?” I sighed, “That’s right.” He continued, “So I suppose we have something else that we have in common doesn’t it?” I stated, “Yes, I suppose it does.” He continued, “Still, there are so many issues involved here we have to discuss.” He shook his head, “Aren’t we all committing adultery? And what if the children ever were to find out?” I sighed, “I think adultery involves cheating and it seems both you and I have cheated with the same woman. So now that it is in the open I don’t think that’s an issue anymore. And as for the children I think if I was able to keep my relationship with Nicole a secret from you the last several years we can make sure the children never find out Aunt Nicole is really…well, you know.”
He shook his head and commented, “As usual you make a really good argument that makes sense rationally but what about my church? If this ever comes out into the open I will be kicked out. Maybe the best thing is that I should just stop going if we do have this kind of open relationship going on.” I protested, “No you cannot stop, nor can the kids! Besides, weren’t Adam and Eve told not to take of the forbidden fruit? If God had not intended for them to do it then why did he make them man and woman since, after all, they could not reproduce until they had become fully human?” He looked at me funny at which time I sighed, “In other words, God had a special purpose for them and that required them to disobey a less important law to fulfill another?”
Matt’s tone of voice and expression indicated he was not entirely convinced with my logic. I knew if I did not sell him totally and completely everything could fall apart and I was not going to allow that to happen. So I asked, “In the Bible times, like in the days of Moses, if a married man had relations with an unmarried woman what was required of him if it were found out?” Matt stared off into the distance, “From what I have read he had to take her as an additional wife.” I moved closer to him and said, “Well, there you go!” He sighed as he took my hand, “I’ll have to give it some thought.” I squeezed his hand, “Look, you should consider yourself blessed. You have two women who love you.” He smiled and nodded his head. He then asked, “So what will Nicole have to say about this?” I had not thought about that yet but I replied, “Leave it to me. You might say we have a very close bond.” He laughed, “I get the picture but I’ll say this here and now, I don’t want to know any of the private details between you two. There are some men who might get off on it but let me just say that what you two do when you are together is between you two. Give me the luxury of a little bit of denial, okay?” We embraced and held each other so tight that I had a hard time breathing. Judging from what he said I had won this round – all that was left was talking with Nicole.
We sat there after he let go of me in silence, enjoying the energy of the moment. I took the initiative and moved Matt’s hand onto my knee and asked, “Now can I prove I am not only into women?”
It was one of the wonderful aspects of our relationship that we could make fun of even the most serious of subjects. I let him chase me up to the bedroom and we had an incredible afternoon of catching up on lost time. I had been worried about how he would react to the piercing and the tattoo but he thought they were both quite sensuous. Later we collapsed in each other’s arms. I laid my head on his chest and asked him, “Please never leave me.” He put his arm around me and said that he could never, ever consider life without me. I pledged my love and said that he was the only man for me and that he had better take care of himself so he lived a very, very long life. He assured me he would, unless someone decided to run him over or shoot him. I then said, “If anyone ever tries to hurt you I assure you I will kill them without hesitation.” He laughed in a nervous manner and said, “Hey darling, isn’t it my job to protect you?” I answered, “Yes, but…hey, you have to understand what I have been through, but please don’t think I have become a killer or anything.”
We held each other tightly until he reminded me I had to go see Nicole. I agreed and while I put my clothes on I said, “I’ll try to be back home in the early evening.” but Matt said, “Look, Nicole has been worried sick about you and besides, Nicole’s mother is going to bring the kids over here so just stay the evening.” I thought that was nice of him to offer. I said I was looking forward to seeing our children again in the morning. He smiled and said they would be overjoyed.
As I was leaving Matt told me he loved me but that it was going to take some time to get used to our unconventional lifestyle. I kissed him and joked, “You know with two women you better make sure you keep up on you exercises and maybe increase your vitamins.” He laughed, “Are you implying I’m too old to keep up?” I pounced onto him, “No you’ll manage fine I am sure! Now as I said I’ll see you in the morning then?” He pushed me away, “You’d better get out of here before I change my mind.” I kissed him and said, “Thank you for loving me so unconditionally. I’ll always be at your side, I promise.” He then told me to hurry since Nicole’s mom was going to arrive at any time. I joked, “So how do you like her as a mother-in-law to which he said, “You know, for some reason I don’t think she likes me that much.” I sighed and said, “Well, at least you only have one mother in law to have to deal with – Brigham Young had a bunch of them.” He laughed as we waved to each other, knowing we would soon be in each other’s arms again.
As I drove through Portland I was excited at being able to see Nicole, but there were some issues I had to clear up with her. Maybe I was still a little upset with how she had taken the role of mother when I was gone – although I would have been more upset if she had not I supposed. However I did miss her terribly and looked forward to holding her in my arms again. Also, Nicole was the only person I could allow to have the full story of my abduction, including the deaths. I figured she did not have to know all the details of what I had shared with Bethany and how I had yearned for spending our lives together. When I saw the house I took a deep breath, parked and knocked on the door. It soon swung open and there was Nicole, smiling and crying! I ran to her and grabbed her, and held her tightly sa
ying, “Hello my love! I’m home with you again.”
Nicole kept crying and said, “I was so worried I would never see you again!” I looked at her and told her it was okay, and that we would never, ever be apart anymore. She kept crying so I finally took her by the back of her head and pulled her forward, locking our lips in a firm embrace. She finally seemed to calm down, and I looked her in the eyes and caressed her cheek. She smiled back at me and we went into the living room.
Like with Matt she had a million questions about my time in captivity. Unlike with Matt I shared the darkest parts of the story. I could share far more with her than with Matt and that seemed to increase my bond with her. As our conversation progressed, I became more interested in what had gone on at home rather than repeating what had occurred with me. She gave the same story about spending lots of time with Matt and eventually falling in love. I did not tell her of my conversation with Matt about this, and then asked, perhaps to be cruel, or mainly to find out how much she truly loved him because, ironically enough I felt Matt deserved her unquestioning devotion considering the sacrifices he was willing to make. I asked, “Would you be willing to call it quits with Matt now?” She looked at me and asked, “What? Isn’t this what you have wanted all along?” I responded, “Yeah, but now I think it would be best if you never spent time with Matt again.”
I expected her to go into one of her submissive moods, but that was not how she reacted, far from it! She stood up and looked at me and loudly proclaimed, “Look, I love Matt, I mean…he is the father of my kids after all. And, and…well, you are not going to tell me what to do!” I stood up, looked her straight in the eyes and then smiled, reaching out with my arms, “Thank you, that is what I wanted to hear from you!” She got angry, “How dare you test me like that! I love you with all my heart and you play games with me?” She suddenly looked as though she was going to slap me but I looked down and said, “Sorry, I did not mean to hurt you. I just had to know.”
She settled down and I told her what I had said to Matt. She asked, “So Matt knows about us and is okay with it? And he is okay with all of us sharing one another?” I assured her, “It will all work out. Just make sure never to bring up anything about our love lives. He said he prefers to not be reminded of that.” She laughed, “So he would be opposed to you and I and him all…well, you know?” I looked at her in surprise and said, “No! And I certainly will never consider such a thing!” She quickly changed the subject to living arrangements. I just suggested that maybe we should sell the houses and find two homes next to each other in a more country setting, so we could be closer as well as isolated from nosey neighbors. She seemed a bit worried about finances since Matt had spent so much trying to find me, until I told her about the money I had come in possession of. I told her that this meant we had a lot of options open to us.
I then asked, “Speaking of threesomes, there’s this video floating around with my former supervisor.” She laughed and asked, “So you saw it, huh?” I said, “Yes I did, and apparently thousands of other people have as well. And as for the girl with her back to the camera…any idea who that might have been?” She smirked, “Think I have a chance at an acting career?” I gave her a hug and said, “No way! Matt would totally freak out if you started doing that!” She sighed, “Look, I came close to killing Landin. I blamed him for you being upset before your disappearance, but that is not what almost resurrected my killing instincts. You see just after you vanished I told Matt what you had told me about what this Vincent guy had said. Matt went in to ask Landin If he could see your records in case anything existed that could shed light on your whereabouts. Landin merely laughed and said that you had been totally irresponsible to leave without any notice and that he had destroyed the records. When Matt insisted on checking Landin threatened to call campus security on him. Matt refused to back down and sure enough Landin had him escorted off campus. That is why I decided on at getting revenge, and even though it was non-lethal it certainly killed his career prospects.” I asked, “So how did you go about it?” She hesitated a moment, but I prodded her until she answered. “I found an ad for escorts and was able to get the services of a young-looking prostitute for the set-up. I sat in on a few of Landin’s classes and after a little flirting I arranged a rendezvous. The trap was set. I planted a video camera in the hotel room and the rest was almost too simple.” I had to ask, “You did not actually have sex with him, did you?” She responded, “Absolutely not! That’s what I was paying the other woman to do!” I continued, “And with her?” Nicole replied, “No, not really…I mean nothing very intimate. Don’t worry Melanie! Nothing took place that could give me any STD but I had to make sure Landin took the bait after all!” She broke down and admitted to all that had taken place between her and the girl, which was not entirely innocent. However I felt very touched by her “sacrifices” on my behalf.
As we were talking Nicole confessed, “Melanie, I think I may be pregnant!” Considering the conversation we were having I stared at her at first. She then jumped to her feet, “Oh my God! With Matt! He’s the only man I have been intimate with!” I spring up and took her in my arms and congratulated her on her wonderful news! I couldn’t help but joke however, “So I assume the natural way was more fun than with the tube.” She nodded, “Yeah definitely!” I told her that I was happy for her but that I feared I might not be able to have children anymore, and why I was worried that was the case. She took my hand and tried to re-assure me, “You have been through hell and back. When everything is back to normal then everything will be healed. Just give it some time, okay?” I smiled, “I hope you are right my love.”
It felt as if we had barely talked but when I looked at the clock it was nearly 10pm. I let her rest in my arms and I looked at her in the light. I loved her so much, and now everything was working out completely in my favor. I pulled her closer to me and kissed her lips. I marveled at her beauty and was so thankful to have her. We did not leave the room, I merely started unbuttoning her blouse and let nature take its course. A few hours later we both collapsed in exhaustion. She cradled me in her arms and we both fell into a deep sleep.
Later, or should I say early in the morning, I awoke with an incredible pain in my lower abdomen. I actually screamed and Nicole jumped up wondering what was wrong. I bent over and felt as though I would soon throw up due to the agonizing contraction-like sensations. I rushed to the bathroom and after what seemed like an hour I knew exactly what it was – my body’s natural cycle had returned. When I came to this realization I did not care about the pain anymore. I was happy that it seemed my body was indeed back to normal. Nicole came in and helped me to the bedroom to relax. She tucked me in under the sheets, “I told you everything would be fine. Now get some sleep and I’ll see you later, okay?”
When I did awake I called Matt and suggested he and Nicole both be present with all the children. Matt said he would get everyone ready and head over to meet me. I quickly ran into the shower and prepared myself for my reunion. When I heard the car park in the driveway I awaited in anticipation, but maybe somewhat fearful of how they would react. After all, I had not been there for almost a half a year. I wondered if they would even recognize me. Yet when the door opened my two oldest were in front and once they saw me they yelled, “Mommy!” and sprinted into my arms! Matt same approached holding my youngest daughter. She was somewhat scared of me at first. Yet when he handed her to me she smiled and wrapped her arms around my neck.
I was amazed at how much they had grown and all I wanted to do was hold them all day. I think this day finally convinced Matt of the advantages of my proposition – and if that didn’t, Nicole’s positive pregnancy test that afternoon certainly sealed the deal. It would be tough in some respects, but being able to be completely honest with Matt certainly would reduce the stress that came with living in the shadows.
Surrounded by my children, and the two people I wanted to share my life with, was an incredible feeling. I would not have traded it for the w
orld. When I had Matt alone I asked, “So what do you think about everything?” He asked, “What, finding out Nicole is pregnant and getting used to the whole polygamy thing, or you being here and making my life complete?” I smiled and held him, and listening to his heart beat accompanied by the sounds of the children playing with Nicole downstairs, I felt satisfied with my life. And I found it was time to tell Matt of Dr. Hodge’s request that I run for office. He put his arm around me, “I will support you 100% but I have to say you are the biggest adrenaline junkie in the world!” I knew it would be a task to keep everything secret, and even though a state legislative seat did not attract too much public attention it would mean we would have to be slightly more discrete. Yet Matt said, “You should follow your dreams. I will be proud to be married to a politician.” At that Nicole’s oldest daughter screamed. She had bumped her head on the kitchen table but as I looked down the stairs it was apparent that she was okay. I returned to Matt who asked, “So what do you think this baby will look like? Nicole’s daughters are really gorgeous but so I hope combining the genes of Nicole and I will produce as beautiful a child.” I almost informed him that he was their real father but I did not want to complicate the wonderful atmosphere of the moment.
Deliverance from Evil Page 34