“What is it, Joe?” asked my mother.
“I was thinking that maybe you’d all like to increase the number of the pack,” I replied.
“Your three friends upstairs?” asked Mrs. Gabrielli. Her expression told me that she wasn’t keen on the idea. I nodded. “I don’t think they fit with us,” she said. I heard a few murmurs of agreement.
“Look, Joe,” Mrs. Flemington said. “I understand why you want to. But there’s a reason our pack is what it is.”
“I know,” I said. “You’ve all had bad experiences with men, some terrible. That’s just the reason I think my friends fit in perfectly.”
“They can’t have ever been married,” interjected Mrs. Vranch.
“No, of course not,” I said. “But Christine and Allison are…” I paused as I wasn’t sure what the appropriate term would be so as though not to offend any of them. “They’re…into each other.”
“They’re lesbians?” asked Mrs. Gabrielli. Her face was covered in doubt.
Mrs. Flemington stood up. “Joe, just because they don’t like men doesn’t mean they fit with us. There’s the age difference for one thing. More importantly you’re missing the point. We came together as a group because of similar past experiences, not because we don’t like men,” she explained.
“True,” I said. I stopped to think for a minute. It appeared that she had a valid point. “OK, yea, but…in being together like this…with the condition…you have all sworn off men. Except me.”
The women all looked at each other and muttered indistinguishably. I think I heard at least one say, “He’s right.” Their faces told me that they still didn’t know what to think.
“Tell you what,” I said as I took control over them again. “Why don’t I bring them down here, you can talk to them a bit, and then make a decision.” They looked at each other and they all nodded in agreement. “OK, but here’s the thing: you can’t let on that you know Christine and Allison are with each other. It’s still a big secret except to me, Sara, and I’m not sure who else.”
I turned to go back upstairs and fetch the girls. Then I heard Mrs. Gabrielli ask, “What about Sara?”
I stopped and turned around to face her. “What about Sara?” I asked back as I did not know what she meant.
“She’s your girlfriend, so how does she fit with us the way you think the other two do?” she asked.
“She…doesn’t, I guess,” I admitted. “How about I’m calling the shots on this one since I’m the alpha?” I said forcefully. That seemed to shut her up. I didn’t mean to sound so mean, but that’s how it came out. “Sorry, just…let’s just see,” I said. I turned back around and was about to go upstairs. Then I remembered the water. “Oops, came down here to get water,” I said as I dashed back to the kitchen, fetched the water, and went back upstairs.
When I pushed the door open, Christine and Allison were even closer to each other than they had been a few minutes ago. “Here’s your water,” I said. “And, yes, it’s filtered, not from the tap, Allison.” I had a feeling she was going to ask that question.
She scoffed but did not challenge my assumption. They took it and I sat back down next to Sara. I waited for another few minutes to pass. Then I wished that they would agree to do what I asked of them until I said otherwise. “Hey, I know this sounds a little strange,” I said, “but the women downstairs would really like to meet all of you formally. Why don’t we go downstairs and talk for a little while?”
“OK,” Christine said.
“Sure,” agreed Allison. “I’m a little bored with the movie anyway.”
“What’s so special about us?” Sara asked as she stood up.
I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. They’re a bit of an eccentric group, but they’re all very nice, so I’m sure they don’t have an ulterior motive,” I said. I smiled to myself but did not let my face betray my true feeling, since I was the one with the ulterior motive.
We left the room and walked back downstairs to the living room. “Ladies, the girls have graciously agreed to spend some time with you,” I said. I noticed there weren’t enough seats. “Let me grab some chairs from the kitchen for you,” I said to the girls. They waited for me to return. I placed the chairs next to each other so that they would face the rest of the women, whose seats formed a kind of half-circle.
They sat down. Sara smiled politely and asked, “What would you like to talk to us about?”