Charley was everything I wanted, but beneath the lust soaked desire was a primal need.  I didn’t care about the age gap.  I needed her by my side.  She was beautiful and made my life feel complete when she was in my arms, but I couldn’t help but worry how Madison would react.  I was nervous as I sat at the kitchen table and waited for her car to pull up in the driveway.  She had sent a message to Charley to let her know she was almost home.  It wouldn’t surprise her to find Charley waiting inside, but I needed some time alone with my daughter.  I asked Charley to wait upstairs in my room until I had a chance to talk with Madison.  My stomach was tied in knots more than it was when I had to explain why she was bleeding when she got her first period and when I had to sit her down for our first sex talk.  I kept myself busy by cooking her favorite meal and I placed three plates, hoping we would actually get to the point where we could all sit down and eat together once our secret was revealed.  I finally heard her car in the driveway and prepared for the worst.

“Daddy!”  Madison came through the door with the same excitement she always had, running over and giving me a hug.

“Welcome home!”  I hugged her tight, hoping it wasn’t the last one she would ever give me.

“Thank you.  Do I smell spaghetti?”  She leaned back from the hug and peeked into the kitchen.

“It could be any number of Italian dishes, but yes, I am making your favorite.”  I smiled and walked towards the kitchen.

“Three plates?”  She followed me and glanced towards the table.  “I don’t know if Charley will be over in time for dinner.  She didn’t respond to my last text message.”

“We are going to have a guest for dinner.”  It was a good segue into the conversation, even if it wasn’t how I envisioned it originally.

“Oh?”  She leaned against the doorway as I tended to the food.  “Who?”

“I’m seeing someone.”  I stirred the meat sauce and turned back towards Madison.  “I asked her to join us for dinner.”

“Dad...”  Her eyes narrowed.  “You have a girlfriend and you haven’t told me?”

“I wanted to tell you in person.”  I could feel my pulse racing as I prepared to confess—it was probably how Madison felt when she had to confess things to me, but the shoe was on the other foot.

“Do I know her?”  She tilted her head suspiciously.

“You do.”  I nodded and sighed, trying to form a smile on my nervous lips.

“Who is it?  Is it someone I like?”  Her head tilted more and her lips pursed into a look of concern.

“Yes.”  I sighed and looked at the floor for a moment before lifting my eyes.  “It’s Charley.”

“Charley?  Charley...”  I could see her brain processing it and then the light bulb lit up.  “CHARLEY!?  My best friend, Charley!?”

“Yes.”  All I could do was wait for the volcanic eruption of her temper.  There wasn’t much else to do once the words were said.

“Dad, what the fuck?”  She took a step back and her eyes bulged out of her head.

“Hello, Madison.”  I heard Charley’s voice from behind Madison.  I hadn’t told her to come downstairs yet, but it was clear she had been listening.

“I don’t know which one of you I’m going to stab first.”  Madison’s voice got rigid and angry as she looked back and forth between us.  “You’re fucking my Dad?”

“Madison...”  I let out a sigh.

“I love him.”  Charley took a step towards her.  “If you’re going to hate someone, hate me.  Don’t hate him.”

“Love?”  Madison stammered over her words.  “You love him? You fucked up your life so what—now you want mine?”

“It isn’t like that, Madison.”  I took a step towards her and tried to put a hand on her shoulder, but she pulled away.  “I fell in love with her.”

“I can’t deal with this.”  Madison threw her hands up and pushed past Charley, heading straight for the door.

“Madison!”  Charley ran towards her, but I closed the gap between us and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Let her go.”  I sighed.  “She needs time.”

***

THE NEXT COUPLE OF hours were spent sitting at the table and keeping Charley from responding to Madison’s angry barrage of text messages.  I finally took Charley’s phone and typed a response, telling Madison that she needed to come home so we could talk about it like adults.  I wasn’t sure if she would, but after an hour, I finally heard her car in the driveway.  Neither of us moved from the table.  We waited for Madison to open the door and come inside.  The look on Madison’s face was a look of anger and hurt.  Her eyes were red rimmed and I could tell she had been crying.  She walked to the table and sat down, immediately opening the pot of spaghetti and putting some on her plate.  It wasn’t hot, but it was still warm from being closed.  I didn’t want to say anything until she was ready, and I could see it was killing Charley as well.  Madison finally finished putting food on her plate and looked up.

“Let’s eat.”  Her words were angry.  “I should at least have a meal with my new stepmother.”

“Madison...”  Charley’s eyes filled with tears.  “We’ve been friends since we were kids. You know me.”

“I thought I did.”  Madison stabbed her spaghetti and rolled it around her fork.

“I’m still the same person.”  Tears started to stream down Charley’s face. 

“Eat.”  Madison started digging into her food.

Charley and I excused ourselves for a brief conversation in the living room while Madison was still in the kitchen, and decided to let Madison sleep on it.  Trying to force her into a conversation she wasn’t ready for wasn’t fair.  Charley went home and I gave Madison the space she needed, but she decided to spend it alone in her room.  I felt awful for putting my daughter in the situation, but I did love Charley.  There was no way that I could let her go.  I hoped Madison would come around and realize it wasn’t something we did to intentionally hurt her.  If she didn’t manage that before the break was over, I hoped she could find some way to forgive the two of us she before she returned home again.  When it seemed like Madison wasn’t going to come downstairs at all that night, I decided to retire to bed as well.  I missed Charley and wished she was there with me, but I didn’t want to upset Madison further by reaching out for her.  Sleep didn’t come easy knowing the two people I loved more than anything else in the world were tormented and torn apart by my decision to pursue Charley.