"Of course. Why not? It was well before I met your mum, and who's to say loving two people at once is wrong?"
"But, I mean both … oh shit, the thoughts in my mind now. Argh." Seonagh sat down heavily in the chair Athol had vacated earlier. "I so cannot get my head round this. Parents are supposed to be, well, parents. Upstanding, law abiding and all that stuff. Not weird and…" she stopped speaking and bit her nail. "Well, as you dragged me over here I guess there's more. Scary, bloody scary. My mum's a swinger, and hey, hold on, who the hell is Affric, then?"
Athol grimaced. "Affric was my twin. He was not your father."
She looked at her mother. "Mum? So you had three guys on the go at once? That's perverted. Help me here."
Sina sighed. "No, and don't be disrespectful. My life was and is my life. I told you Affric wasn't your father."
"Yeah, but you didn't say who was," Seonagh said. "What the fu … hell is going on here. Dad?" She looked at James. "I haven't got a clue. If Affric isn't my birth father, who is? Do you know? Or did he wear a mask and keep his crash helmet on…?"
Athol had no idea what she was talking about. Sina shook her head.
"It's not fiction, love. I didn't have an assignation with a guy on a motorbike, or the Lone Ranger. I had a long and loving affair. With two men at once. Now you might not approve, and you might never approve, but that's up to you. Just listen, love. It's a complicated story. Someone's been messing with all of us, and we need to try and find out who."
Athol wanted to cry at the strained look on Sina's face. She bit her lip and dipped her head. Seonagh still stared at Sina, as if Sina had developed two heads and a set of fangs.
"Hell, I thought it was kids who rebelled, not parents." Seonagh ran her tongue around her lips. It was a nervous action that Athol had seen many times before. Both he and Edan did it when worried. "O … kay. I might need time to get to terms with all of this, but I won't throw a hissy fit. I'll be cool, calm and collected and…. No, I won't. Shit, mother, what where you thinking about? That's crazy. Two guys and eugh … no, I can't even say it."
She stood up and began to stride around the room. Her hair, so reminiscent of her mother's, spun around her face. Her eyes were shining and Athol reckoned if he had a 3D camera or something you'd see the spark bouncing off her. She nigh on crackled.
"This is blooming surreal. I'll wake up in a minute stressing over exams, or realize I've been reading some weird book. I mean, mums don't do stuff like… well, they might, but children don't hear … damn. Mum, you, them, each, both … hell, both?"
She sat down again, all the fire gone out of her, and with tear tracks down her cheeks. Whether from anger or sadness Athol couldn't tell. Probably, a bit of both.
"Oh crap."
She stared at Athol and he saw the hurt in her eyes before she lowered her lashes. They were damp.
"I mean, yeah, we all heard about the swinging sixties, but this wasn't then. And it wasn't my mum."
"Seonagh, you're bright and intelligent." Athol took a gamble. "Are you open minded as well? Liberal and understand all people are individuals with different wants and needs?"
She stared at him. "I'd like to think so. Well I did think so, but seriously, it's different when it's real people who matter to you. Why?"
This is it, we'll all be happy or I'll have unleashed world war three.
"Because I'm going to speak as if you are." Athol found his mug of coffee and took a long swallow. He wished he'd had the forethought to lace it with whisky. "And ask you to remember how hard this is for your mum. Come to think of it, for James, Edan and me as well. So will you listen?"
The silence this time was menacing. So much hung on her answer. To be honest, Athol had no idea what he'd say or do if Seonagh said no. It wasn't as if he could tie her to the chair and demand she listen.
"I'll listen. On one condition."
He really wanted to say okay then, here are your safe words, and do you know how to use them.
"Condition?" Athol had to fight with himself not to go into full-on Dom mode. As it was he could hear his 'Dommy-ness' as Linsey called it, creeping into his voice. "It depends."
"That you are totally honest with me, no holding back. If I'm gonna be shocked and horrified, I might as well be shocked and horrified over everything, all at once. And you let me look round Dommisimma."
Athol laughed, relieved she hadn't come up with something too outrageous. “The first I reckon we can all go with, yes?" There was a chorus of 'yesses'. "The club? No can do, it's not mine and it wouldn't be legal. Ask me again when you're twenty five."
"Ah well, it was worth a chance. But I will have questions."
"And if I can, I'll answer them," Athol said. "Fair enough?"
"Fair enough."
It was up to him then. Athol leaned back on the mantelpiece. He was glad the fire wasn't too warm.
"I'll give you the abbreviated version. Otherwise it'll be like one of those long running saga's on T.V. you get bored of." To his amusement, Seonagh kicked off her shoes, tucked her feet under her and snuggled down in the chair.
Silently Edan got up and stood next to Athol. His nearness and the warmth of his body where it touched Athol were both comforting and supportive. Athol inhaled Edan's scent and mentally prepared himself to speak.
"I am, or I was a twin. I was the eldest, and I guess more gregarious. My brother couldn't handle it. My parents sided with him on everything, and I soon learned not to show any enthusiasm for anything or anyone. Because as sure as eggs are eggs, Affric would do his best to spoil it. It didn't help that I was sporty and a faster runner. Hell, being gay and playing rugby, I had to be. The one thing I wouldn't do was lie about my sexuality. Affric wasn't interested in sport, and couldn't be bothered with learning. I wanted to learn. Even then the mind fascinated me. Let's face it: with him and his warped ideas, it was no wonder. When I got a place at uni, all hell broke loose. Again, I've no idea why. After all, I'd worked for it. However, somehow, my parents decided I'd held Affric back, and wouldn't support me. So I worked in pubs, and the Student's Union to make a bit of money, met Edan and your mum. And we were a threesome, and happy with it. Affric? He bummed around, and did as little as possible. Except pop over to the uni every so often and pretend to be me. I soon learned to make sure I had an alibi for everything." Athol paused and Edan passed him a glass of whisky. He sipped the liquid slowly, and welcomed the fiery warmth as it slid down his throat.
"Those of us who knew Athol, like your mum and I, could easily tell the difference, but he did enough trouble to cause a fair few problems," Edan added.
"He tried to tell me he was Athol," Sina said. "I was a wee bit blunt, and let's just say things could have got nasty except my flat mate came in with her boyfriend. Stuart was a six foot five, eighteen-stone rugby player, with a beautiful way of putting the fear of God into assholes. However, Affric had made threats about how he'd harm Athol if he ever found out about what'd gone down. Maybe it was daft, but I believed him. So, when I found out I was pregnant, I left uni, took a year out and finished my degree in Aberdeen near Granny and Gramps. I never saw Affric again, but a couple of letters forwarded on to me made me think he meant what he said."
"He sounds mad. Really warped and crazy," Seonagh said. "But if you could all tell the difference, why did someone send that letter? And if he's dead, who sent it? I hope someone kneed him in the balls and he suffocated on them."
"Blood thirsty are you, or what? Actually it was a motorbike crash. He'd been drinking, I think, and drove into a wall. Of course I got blamed for that. Oh, don't worry. I was well past believing that crap by then. Anyway, to fast forward to now. You came into Dommisimma, and so I pulled up my big boy boxers and went to see Edan."
"You mean you weren't together?" Seonagh asked. "Why not?"
This was where it was going to get tricky.
"Seonagh, don't pry," Sina said. "It’s none of our business."
Seonagh grinned. "Well, you know I'm nosy.
And I want to understand everything."
Athol wasn't sure about that. "Let's just say neither of us were prepared to compromise, so we argued. Because I was a medic, I went down south to finish my training, and that was that. But somehow no one could take Edan's place, and so you did me a favor, really."
"And me," Edan said. "We were both too bloody stubborn for our own good. Now we're older and wiser, and prepared to find a happy medium."
"So, and yeah this is nosy, big time… Are you still both bi? Damn, that’s daft, cos, if you were you must be, no?"
"It's not a disease, but a part of a person," Athol said. "At that time of my life I loved two people equally, Edan and your mum. After we split up, as time went by I had a few relationships with people of both sexes. Gradually, I found I was more attracted to guys. However, I've not been promiscuous. I had a few relationships and that's it. Now I'm hoping I'm in my last relationship. With Edan."
Edan kissed him solidly on the lips as Seonagh whooped and cheered.
"And back, hon, and back. With the whole white suit and ring scenario, eh?"
"Dammit, you beat me to it," Athol said. "That means I get first dibs on where we go for our honeymoon."
"Fair enough. When?"
"Soon as we can? We've got a helluva lot of years to make up."
"Aw, that's beautiful," Seonagh said. "And bags me bridesmaid. Okay, oy, no more lovey dovey…loosen the lip lock and listen up."
She sounded so serious, after the happy light tone of a few minutes earlier, that Athol's stomach lurched, as he moved back a couple of inches and rested his arm on Edan’s shoulder.
"There's something we've all skirted around. So who's going to tell me…?" She looked from each one in turn. "Who is my birth father?"
"I don’t know," Sina said eventually. "We were a threesome. And that meant we slept together. Oh god, dissecting my sex life to my daughter."
"Mum, you've always been open with me," Seonagh said and giggled. "Remember the banana and the condom?"
"Yes well," Sina said and colored. "It helped though, didn't it?" It was Seonagh's turn to color.
"Muuum, TMI, right, so, if I've got this right, as of this moment, I have three dads? James, Athol and Edan? And, thank goodness not Asshole Affric?"
"Unless you want us to take DNA tests, that's about it," Athol said. "It's your choice, but I know I'm happy to be one of your fathers, and not know for sure."
"So am I," Edan said.
Seonagh turned to her mother and James. "Mum, dad?"
A sharp pain in his gut hit Athol. He'd love to hear Seonagh call him dad, and he wasn't going to. James was her dad. All he and Edan could hope for in reality was to be part of her life. He glanced at Edan, who smiled sadly. Like-minded, then.
"Fine by us, love, it's your decision," James said. "I know it won't take anything from me."
"Nope, you're dad. Athol and Edan?" She stood in front of them and touched her lips to their cheeks in turn. "You’re my fathers. I can’t call either of you dad, sorry, but that's for James. Nevertheless, I won't ask for DNA tests, and I will be honored to have you as fathers."
Athol grabbed her and Edan into a bear-hugging group of three. "That's perfect," he said huskily. "Eh, Ede?"
"Oh yeah. You okay with that?" Edan spoke to Sina and James.
"Absolutely," Sina said.
"Two things, though," Seonagh said.
Athol rolled his eyes, "Sweetie, you and your things. I swear you never make a … ahem," he stopped as Seonagh giggled and stuck her tongue out. "Go on, hit us with them."
"Will we ever find out who sent the letters? Cos really, now I'd like to thank them. After slapping them upside the head for shit stirring."
"I don't know, but we're able to do some digging now. Now we're all on the same page, so to speak, we can work together. Will we succeed? Who knows?"
"Fair enough, so my second question is really important." Her tone was so serious that if he hadn't seen the twinkle in Seonagh's eyes, Athol would have been very worried. As it was, he wondered just what his daughter was up to.
My daughter. Oh bloody hell, that sounds good.
"It's a matter that really affects us all."
"Go on," Edan said. "Make him work and use his brain."
"You're not going to make me wear bridesmaid taffeta and pink, are you? I'd look like a meringue, and pink?" She shuddered. "It so clashes with my hair."
Epilogue
"I've heard they made up." The middle-aged man with dark hair greying at the temples got up from the computer and stretched. "Lordy, I'm stiff. I might just demand a massage later. Athol and his partner are getting married. And the young lassie is going to be a bridesmaid. I haven't been able to find out when yet. Evidently, two of their friends are pregnant and they need to fix a date after Anna's twins are born and before Sina gets too big."
"I don’t know how you ferret all this out, you know, but I’m damned glad you do." The elegant woman with sad grey eyes, and hair that once was the color of a tomato, and now a gentle subtle auburn, sighed. "Will we be able to make amends, do you think? I just want to say sorry. I was stubborn and short sighted and ohh, what a mess. We might have a granddaughter, we should have a new son-in-law, and we might never experience any of that firsthand. But I will face him and say I'm sorry one day."
He leaned in and kissed her, his reason for being. The one person he'd supported for years. And the one person who knew now, what a terrible thing they had done. "We both will, love. We're both at fault. All we can do is show how sorry we are. Once we realized our wrongdoing, we started to do our best to make up for it. Our plans might have been controversial, but they've turned out okay so far. So what's next on the agenda?"
She smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "I do love you, you know, and I'm happy to obey your command. Whatever. I'll have no cause to cry red, I'm sure. So, our agenda? To send Athol and Edan the details of those houses, and lots of land, halfway between both their jobs. And the details of the appointments we found that might suit them. Oh, I don't want him to move away, not now we got a bead on him so to speak, but this isn't about me. It's about our son, and trying to right wrongs."
"All we can do, love, all we can do. And perhaps one day, we might just visit Dommisimma for our own needs, eh?”
The End
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Other Books by Raven McAllan:
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A Dom's Decision Page 12