Chapter Twenty-Eight Explaining Themselves
“B.R.! Hi! Bishop said you guys were in Vermont!” Tenn turned around and watched as Quinn walked over to a slender older man with close-cropped silver-grey hair. He held open his arms with a smile and hugged her. She sounded a little nervous, but he just looked happy to see her.
“We got back yesterday.” He explained, looking at Tenn curiously over Quinn's shoulder. “Want to introduce me to your... friend? Tenn picked up a faint hint of disapproval in his voice and suddenly wanted the sand beneath his feet to swallow him, but Quinn smiled at him encouragingly.
“This is Tenn Aston; he's an -”
“Art Historian at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. I have your book.” The man held out his hand, and Tenn shook it.
“It's great to meet you.” Tenn felt himself flush under the man's intense gaze. “I'm a huge fan.”
“Well, why don't you two come to the house for some iced tea? You can take a look around, sign my book, and explain yourselves.” He turned and walked toward the trail while Quinn began to pack up their things.
“Don't look so guilty, Tenn. He's hated Joel with a passion since he put me in the hospital; he's not even allowed on the grounds.” She murmured as she shook out the blanket. “He'll be fine when we explain everything.”
“I hope so; I don't want one of my favourite painters to hate me.” Tenn packed up their garbage in the bag she handed him, feeling his stomach clench with nerves. This was not how he wanted to meet her informally adopted family at all.
“Trust me.” She picked up the tub and umbrella, and he carried the cooler back to her car. They put it all aboard, and Quinn drove them to the house. Pulling another card from the center console, she swiped it at the gate and drove through when it opened.
“They really consider you family, don't they?” Tenn shifted nervously, unable to stay quiet. He hadn't been kidding; B.R. Deering was one of his favourite artists, so several factors were playing into his nervousness now, not just the fact that he had been caught kissing a married woman.
“They thought Bishop and I would end up married.” She explained. “They grew to love Rilla, but there was disappointment throughout the first six months of their relationship.”
“I thought you guys were just friends with benefits?” Tenn’s confusion distracted him from his embarrassment for a moment.
“We were. Quill was very adamant that I do not date his best friend.” Quinn gave him another quick, reassuring smile. “He wasn’t exactly okay with the friends-with-benefits thing but grudgingly agreed not to make remarks as long as he didn’t see anything.
“Really?” Tenn was surprised. Quill was okay with him dating Quinn and even encouraged it, despite the fact that they were both married to other people.
“He said we wouldn’t last, the breakup would be messy, and he didn't want to have to choose, not to mention the rift it would cause between Bishop, B.R., and Linda. We had several very long conversations that were mostly him warning me not to fall for him. And he was right. Bishop and Rilla are polyamorous and frequently have other people they date outside of the marriage, and sometimes they bring in a third. They have rules, which work for them, but, like I told you before, it didn't work for me. B.R. and Linda are aware of how Rilla and Bishop's relationship works; they don't exactly approve of it but don't say anything.” She parked in front of the house and got out, leading him to the front door and then through the house to the kitchen. There were beautiful pieces of art and sculptures everywhere and Tenn wished he had about thirty more eyes; he desperately wanted to stop and walk through more slowly.
“Quinn!” A woman with long white hair in a braid hugged her as she entered the kitchen. “We thought it was you when we heard screaming on the beach.” She smiled at Tenn. “Water balloons again?”
“Water guns,” Tenn answered, smiling back at her. This woman exuded warmth and instantly made you feel at home and Tenn really hoped they would be as understanding as Quinn was insisting they would be.
“Ah, much more environmentally sound. I'm sure your brother would approve.” She reached out and affectionately brushed a few tendrils of Quinn’s hair back off her face.
“I always cleaned up all the balloon pieces.” Quinn protested, smiling sheepishly. Then she reached for Tenn’s hand and pulled him up next to her. “Linda, this is Tenn Aston, Tenn, Linda Deering, B.R.'s wife and Bishop’s mom.”
“Have a seat.” Linda shook Tenn’s hand with a warm smile and gestured to the kitchen table as she went to the fridge, pulling out a large jug of iced tea and a charcuterie board. She set them on the table and passed out glasses as B.R. entered the kitchen, holding Tenn's book and a Sharpie.
“So. Where's Joel?” He looked at Quinn sharply as he laid the book and marker in front of Tenn. He opened the cover and started signing his name to the cover page as Quinn glanced at the clock.
“Still at work, I guess.” She shrugged and met B.R.’s gaze. “He doesn’t usually get off until six.”
“I see.” His eyes flicked restlessly between the two of them. “Is this -” He waved his hand in a circle over the two of them. “- another Bishop and Rilla thing?” Linda sat down next to him and watched the interaction, looking taken aback by what her husband was suggesting.
“No.” Quinn shook her head and glanced at Tenn, wordlessly asking him if it was okay to tell them. He gave her a go-ahead motion as he finished signing the book. “Tenn came to see me last week because he had hired a private investigator to follow his wife. She was cheating on him with Joel. We've spoken to a divorce lawyer, and they'll be served next Friday.”
“So, when did this happen?” He waved his hand in the “wax on, wax off” motion over them again.
“For me, it was when I walked into the room to tell her that her husband was cheating on her with my wife,” Tenn said as he passed the signed book back over to B.R. “But that was the first time I gave in to the urge to kiss her.”
Quinn practically glowed with happiness when he admitted that he’d wanted to kiss her from the beginning and gave him a huge smile. “After he showed me the proof of the affair, I wanted to both get back at Joel and get to know Tenn better because I thought he was really cute. I asked him if he’d be interested in messing with Joel and his wife, Viki, until we figured out the lawyer thing and had them served. I had been trying to get in touch with him about the lecture series anyway, so he offered to help me with it.” She paused in her explanation for a second and looked at B.R. quizzically. “Speaking of the lecture series, did you get my email?”
He nodded. “I was going to call you; yes, I'm available.” He leaned forward, steepling his fingers together and surveying them over the tips. “Normally, I'd say end one relationship before starting another, and two wrongs don’t make a right, but in this case, since you’ve already started the process for filing for divorce, I don’t see an issue here.”
Tenn felt instantly relieved. He kind of thought B.R. was more willing to overlook things because it was Quinn, and he hadn’t missed the quick flash of anger on his face when Quinn said Joel was having an affair, but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Linda nodded, still looking a little surprised by everything she had just learned. “I agree. Will you be staying for dinner?”
Quinn smiled and raised her eyebrow at Tenn. He nodded quickly. Have dinner with one of his favourite artists? Yes, please. “As long as B.R. gives Tenn a tour while I help you cook.” She gave Tenn’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I definitely moved too quickly when we walked through; he couldn't look everywhere fast enough.”
B.R. chuckled. “Come on then; I have some pieces I know you'll like.” He stood up and started to leave the kitchen. Tenn stood up quickly, kissed Quinn's cheek, and followed B.R. as he began the tour of his home.
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Later that evening, after a delicious meal of barbecued chicken, twice-baked potatoes, and grilled asparagus, Tenn and Quinn said their goodbyes and headed back to the ferry.
“I'm sorry our date got hijacked.” Quinn apologized as she drove. “Bishop said they would be in Vermont until June first.”
“Are you kidding me? I had the best day ever. Best first date ever.” Tenn leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I got to spend a full day with you, kiss you, meet one of my favourite painters, one of the few still alive anyway, have dinner with him and his wife, have them approve of us dating, and he gave me one of his paintings! I don't know how I'm going to plan a date that's even going to come close to that for you.”
“I only planned the beach day. Everything else was just luck and coincidence.” She laughed. “Don't worry; energy and effort are all I want.”
“See, I don't know if I should be mad or grateful Joel put the bar on the ground for me.” Tenn frowned. When they got off the ferry, Tenn got in the driver's seat and drove back to Boston, letting her relax. “What's the plan for tomorrow?”
“Joel and Viki are going to the airport at seven. Our appointment with Deedee is at nine. Then I have to go grocery shopping and make the snacks for the Mario Kart Tournament, and everyone will be at your place for six.” She yawned and put the seat back a little. Tenn couldn’t blame her for being tired; it had been a very full and exciting day.
“Why don't I pick you up at eight-thirty? We'll go to the appointment, then go grocery shopping. You can cook at my place while I clean and get everything ready.” He hesitated for a moment and then figured it was better to know ahead of time. “Are they going to sleep over?”
“If we're drinking, they usually do. I make breakfast, and they help me clean up.” She glanced at him. “Is that okay?”
“Yeah, absolutely.” He smiled at her. “I would actually prefer it if they’re drinking. I may have to fumigate the spare room, but that's fine. We can put Bishop and Rilla in there, and Quill can have the couch in the basement; it pulls out into a bed.”
“Where am I sleeping?” Her tone was teasingly innocent, and he glanced at her quickly.
“You can share with Quill or me.” He paused. “I would prefer me.” She giggled but didn’t say anything, and he let it go, not wanting to push her into something she may not be ready for. The rest of the drive home was spent discussing video games to see if they could find a PC game they could play together, with Quinn promising to check out some of his suggestions since she preferred simulation games.
When they reached the museum, he parked next to his car, got out and hugged her tightly, but didn’t try to be any more physical than that. “I guess we'll have to be more careful in Boston than we were in Martha's Vineyard.”
“Yeah, we all know a lot of people. It's only a week.” She smiled at him as he frowned. “And you get me all to yourself from Saturday afternoon to Sunday evening.”