Chapter 20
Danica and Brian celebrated their moving into the second floor by deciding that it was time to try to get pregnant. Danica figured that if she conceived soon, she would be able to have the baby at the end of winter or early spring, and that would give her some time to get accustomed to being a mom before their next B&B season started.
Erica said that she had been thinking about children a lot for the past few months, and would love to get pregnant as well. Her problem was deciding who should be the father. Or rather, it was Derek who had to decide if he wanted to be a father. Danica and Brian offered to do it if Derek didn’t want to.
Derek grew a bit more “flaming” with each day of freedom. He still enjoyed sex with “his girls” from time to time, but this was due more to their friendship, trust, and even love than to actual sexual attraction. In fact, the more time that passed in which the four of them were in one relationship (which they all agreed started that first summer at the nudist resort), the more they all felt that it was the right thing for them. None of them could bear the thought of any one of them leaving.
Derek, when considering if he wanted to be a father, ultimately decided that he would because, as things were, he was going to be one of two dads even if he wasn’t the biological father. Plus, it would just be too hard to try to explain to his parents that his “fiancée” was carrying Brian’s child. His only other option would be to claim the baby as his anyway if he didn’t want to explain the truth. Too complicated!
The more thought he gave it; the more he liked the idea of being a dad. I have so much to teach a child! I’d be such a good dad…
Of course, Erica was delighted by his decision, and the four of them got busy trying to conceive. With Danica’s knowledge of her cycle, which she had long since taught Erica, it was actually easy to figure out when they were ovulating, and both of the girls were lucky enough to succeed on the first try.
Three months later, when they’d had to close for the year to go back to school the previous years, they both announced their pregnancies, and Derek and Erica’s parents all started pushing them to set a date. When the “couple” resisted, their parents pointed out that it was far better to set the date sooner rather than after the baby was born.
“Ah!” Derek groaned in frustration. “It’s getting to the point that I just want to tell my parents to stop talking to me altogether!”
“Yes, the hardest part about our polyamorous relationship is trying to conform to other’s expectations!” Erica agreed.
Danica blurted out a thought. “Why don’t we just have a ceremony? We’ll do it our way, with an actual officiant, but we won’t sign any of the documents necessary to make legal. Then, while we are planning this double wedding, we can explain to your parents that this is how we have all chosen to live, and if they don’t like it, they can choose not to have anything more to do with you!”
Erica took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly before replying. “I really don’t want my parents to make that decision… but I trust them enough not to.”
Derek thought about this for several minutes. It seemed that out of all of them, his parents were the most likely to “disown” him. As much as he didn’t want that to happen, he really believed that it was time to “come out of the closet.”
*******
The four of them had set a date in early October for their double wedding. This was to allow them to have it while it was still warm enough to have it outside, naked. They were all grateful that it was a warm year, and not likely to get cold on their chosen day.
Beyond a large tent for the guests to party and eat in, and decorations, there wasn’t much else to prepare for the weddings. They found a wonderful woman to perform the ceremony who didn’t care that they did not wish to be legally bound, merely symbolically. (She even was happy to perform the ceremony naked, as she was a nudist herself.)
Brian’s parents understood right away that their relationship was polyamorous, and that the ceremony was actually symbolic of the four of them pledging their lives to each other. Danica’s parents had actually been warned of this possibility about a year ago, but were still trying to grasp the concept. Even so, they let Danica live her own life in the manner that she chose. They even volunteered to be naked for the wedding.
Invitations were sent out that specifically stated that this was a joining of two nudist couples, and that clothing was going to be optional. It was shortly after this that Erica’s mom finally broke down.
“You cannot be serious! Erica! How can you honestly intend to walk down the aisle naked?!”
Derek’s parents weren’t sure why Derek felt the need to play such a joke on them, but they were sure that it was a joke.
“Seriously son, when are you going to stop trying to put one over on us? It will be obvious at the wedding when everyone walks down the aisle in the formal wear that they should.”
“Dad, mom,” Derek sighed heavily. It was finally time to drop the bomb. He hoped and prayed that his parents would come to accept him for who he was.
Erica sat attentively, signaling to her parents (they were all at Derek’s house for dinner) that this was going to be important.
Derek took another deep breath. “I want to explain everything to you so that you know, and hopefully you will try to understand. Erica and I are having a baby together, and we are having a wedding ceremony, but it is not going to be a legal ceremony. The four of us really are nudists, and just as we are all partners in the Bare Buns Bed and Breakfast, we are all partners in one relationship.”
Erica nodded to her parents. “We’re serious. The four of us consider ourselves to be getting married, but since that’s not legal, the ceremony is symbolic.”
“I don’t understand what you are saying son. If you are having a child with and marrying Erica, then how is that not legal? Why are you not making it legal? What’s this about the four of you?” Derek’s dad asked. His very straight and narrow mind was having a hard time comprehending this concept.
Derek sighed. “Dad, I’m actually gay. I do love Erica, but I love Brian more.”
There was silence for several long moments.
Epilogue
The day of the double wedding arrived, and people began pouring in from all across the country. They had invited everyone who had ever stayed at the B&B, friends from the nudist resort they still went to a few times a year, all of their family members, and everyone who lived in the small town. The number of people who were nudists was actually close to half the guests, and of those that weren’t nudists, many chose to try it just for the ceremony. As a result, the number of naked people actually slightly outnumbered those who wore clothes.
The ceremony was simple. Brian and Derek stood next to the officiant, and Danica and Erica waited at the back of the crowd. Both girls had gotten their hair and nails done, and wore tiaras with short veils. The guys both wore bowties.
They had hired a band that consisted of a harp player, a piano player, a hand drummer, a flutist, and a vocalist. The band began to play renaissance style music, and the vocalist began to sing in Gaelic.
The audience rose, and the girls began to walk down the aisle. They soon joined hands with their intended husbands, and the officiant began the ceremony.
“Dear friends and family, we are here today to witness the union of these four individuals. By their own request, this ceremony is purely symbolic, and I know that many of you in the audience will not understand their desire, and some of you may even think badly of them after this is over, but please, let’s all remember that we are here in peace.”
This comment was largely directed at Derek’s parents, who had decided to attend the ceremony after all, but only because they kept telling themselves that Derek had to be pulling their legs for some reason.
At this point in the ceremony, the two couples turned to face each other, and they all joined hands in a complicated pattern that they had practiced for an hour last night.
The officiant resumed the ceremony talking about unions in general, and the extra challenges that they might encounter because they had chosen to join four as one rather than two as one. She then announced, “Now, the brides and grooms wish to recite the vows they have written.”
Danica went first, “Brian, Erica, and Derek, I love you all with every drop of emotion in my heart. I feel so blessed that I get to spend my life with you, and am overjoyed that even though we might have been fated to be an unhappy love square, we are a closely knit family.”
Brian went next, “Danica, Derek, and Erica… I had the hardest time writing my vows because there is so much to be said. Ultimately, I came up with something very similar to what Danica said, but was afraid that it would sound sappy coming from a guy. Danica, I think you said it beautifully, and I couldn’t agree more.”
Erica blushed, “Derek, Danica, and Brian, I… I am so utterly emotional right now that it’s all I can do to keep from crying tears of joy!” True enough, tears threatened to escape her eyes. “Hopefully, people will blame my tears on my pregnancy hormones!” Danica laughed as tears threatened to escape her as well. “I fell in love with Derek before…” She paused to receive a slight nod of permission from Derek. “Before I found out Derek was gay. I was crushed when I found out, and despaired ever being able to be with him. It was my crazy idea to do what we did…” She blushed redder than ever. “But I’m glad I confided in Danica, and I’m even happier that things have turned out the way they have. I really do love each of you, and I know we have what it takes to be a family… of consenting adults.”
The last bit evoked a chuckle from the rest of the foursome, as well as from those in the audience who were accepting of the situation.
Finally, it was Derek’s turn. “Brian, Erica, and Danica… I first fell in love with Brian when I was dating Danica, so probably about the same time she did! I knew right away that he was in love with her as well, and I sadly stepped aside to let them have each other. Some time later, the four of us were all the very best of friends, and after that, well… we all became lovers. It’s hard to understand how I can be gay, very and utterly gay, and yet still be part of this quartet. And yet… When Erica suggested having my baby, it felt so very right. We are a family. A strange and perhaps considered dysfunctional family, but then again, what family isn’t these days?” People laughed. “And I truly feel that our children will grow up enlightened, and unafraid to be who they truly are, no matter what mysterious personality quirks they may have!”
The officiant blessed their wedding bands, which all matched. Yet each was unique, having been made especially for them by Erica, whose hobby had been jewelry making for as long as she had been interested in cooking and making clothes. They put their rings on one at a time, three of them slipping a ring onto the fourth’s finger, again a maneuver that had to be practiced at length last night.
Finally, it was time to exchange kisses, and the audience cheered wildly as they all kissed one another. First it was Brian and Danica and Derek and Erica, then it was Derek and Danica and Brian and Erica, and lastly, the crowd cheered especially raucously as Brian and Derek, and Danica and Erica kissed.
The quartet turned to the audience, gave a theatrical bow, and marched up the aisle to the large tent that housed the food and the dance floor.
“It’s time to party!”
We all are who we are, and no two people are the same. It's a shame that we can't all accept others for who they are. We need to learn to celebrate out differences rather than judge those who are not like us. I would never feel comfortable in this kind of relationship, but that doesn't mean in any way that it's wrong or unhealthy!
ReplyDeleteThank you Julie! That why I wanted to write this story, so that people - especially teens - have something positive to read that lets them know that not everyone is a hater.
ReplyDeleteI laughed at the idea of being at a wedding where the guys were only wearing bow ties and the girls only had on veils.....I would totally be checking them all out ;)
ReplyDeleteI thought that part was a bit funny too, but I laughed harder when I tried to picture - and mind you I worked at a nudist resort - walking into an office at a bed and breakfast, and the front desk person is wearing a sticker that says, "My name is" as their uniform, lol!
ReplyDelete