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.Let me—”“Not a chance.” Margaret shook her head.“Ed and I used to go camping—remember?—and no mere three months could make him a passable cook.Give it a little time—and I’ll help, too.But not today.Let’s go.”They went.* * * *Melanie thought, That was easier than I expected.Margaret liked her—no problem there.Her own feelings toward the older woman? Not quite the same as Ed’s; she could feel a difference but could not yet put her finger on it.Meanwhile.Outside, she wanted to take her own car, but the other two insisted they all ride in Margaret’s.All right.On the way she lay back with eyes closed, not talking, letting her thoughts roam.At the Carlain house, Margaret started to guide her, to tell her where things were—then stopped cold, laughed, and said, “I’m sorry; I forgot you’ve lived here too.”Melanie said, “You can’t expect to digest the whole impossible thing in two hours; we have three months’ head start on you, remember.”Ed spoke.“And living it, at that.No sweat, Margaret”His wife smiled and said, “You’re right; I’ll need some time.”Later, at dinner, the man and wife talked mostly of Carlain family matters; although these were also part of Melanie’s own recalls, she felt subtly excluded and did not know why.When Ed poured wine she said, “You’re wasting this.So far, nothing alcoholic tastes good to me.”He grinned.“You like this one; I remember.It’s light, white, and dry—you even have one refill.”“You—?” She scowled.“More trapped action, Ed?”“Not really—it just happened.But if you’d rather, I’ll try not to tell you things ahead of time, unless you ask.”“Yes.That might be better.” She sipped the wine and found that she did like it; almost immediately she felt its glow.Midway through her second glass she looked and saw Ed’s amused smile.“Don’t worry, I can handle the rest of this okay.But no more.” The alcohol stimulated and relaxed her but did not fog her mind; she followed the conversation and occasionally contributed.She was neither surprised nor perturbed when all three went to the master bedroom; after all, Ed was Margaret’s as well as hers.Later, without thought—out of habit and instinct and long years of loving—she reached to Margaret.The older woman gasped.“You mustn’t—I don’t—”“I’m still Ed—remember? Even in this package.”A shaky laugh.“Well—anything you can do.”* * * *Ed enjoyed the dinner and the evening but was impatient, waiting.All that happened later moved him deeply.I love them both so much.* * * *For the first time, Melanie woke to see Ed beside her.She heard kitchen noises; Margaret was already up.She thought of something Ed had told her: “If the one of us—you, for now—who lives the day first is the one to initiate communication, we can avoid trapped action.” It sounded reasonable.She reached under the covers and initiated communication.* * * *The funny thing, thought Margaret, was that she did not feel left out or threatened.Closer to each other than either could be to her—but they were both Ed; both loved her.She would never have joined in woman love had Melanie been only Melanie, rather than a new Ed with new limitations, new ways.When she heard the shower running she began cooking breakfast.When it stopped, she called, “It’s on the table, nearly.Five minutes—then you have to fight the dog for it” Both beat the deadline and the nonexistent dog.Over coffee, Ed talked—perfectly good words, but Margaret had a hard time understanding him.“You get it, Melanie? Unless we agree together, a day ahead of time, you have to be the one to decide anything between us that affects action.Or else I’m trapped—or you would be, if we ever change phase.”“Yes, I see that
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