Chapter 15
The time had come for Ellen to make her move. She had the upper hand at the moment and she knew it. She knew the secret of the Martin family while they had yet to learn the secret of the Blackton family. She had to use her advantage or lose it. If she lost it, she might lose her son, as well.
Walking into the bedroom, she said, "I'm sorry for intruding, but I left my purse here."
"Oh, my God!" Art Martin gasped.
"Mrs. Blackton!" Cookie shrieked.
"I think the time has come for us to do some serious talking," Ellen said to them.
"Otherwise you'll tell about us?" Art asked.
"Don't be ridiculous," she chastised. "How would it benefit anyone if I told what went on here just now."
"Are you saying you'll keep quiet no matter what?" Art asked.
"That's right," Ellen nodded.
"No blackmailing me to keep my daughter away from your son?"
"No."
"If you overheard everything, then you just know that my daughter intends telling your son everything, and the only way she'd be willing to set up permanent house with him would be if he was willing to share Cookie with me."
"Under certain conditions I'm certain my son would be most agreeable," Ellen told him.
"What conditions?" Art asked.
"The ones we're going to discuss, right now," she replied.
"Would you mind if we put on robes, first?" Art asked. "I mean, you have us at a definite disadvantage."
"Which is where I intend keeping you until we've finished talking," Ellen told him. "Oh?" he asked.
"Yes, besides, I like looking at a well-hung man like yourself. You don't have anything to be ashamed of, so why hide it from me."
"Why do I have the very definite feeling you're trying to come on to me?" he asked.
"Right now you're in no shape for anything like that," Ellen laughed. "Right now, what we're going to do is talk."
"Hey, I hope you two haven't forgotten I'm part of this," Cookie insisted, sliding to the edge of the bed.
"A very important part," Ellen nodded. "At the moment, the two of you have a deep, dark secret, one that you must feel some shame about or else you wouldn't worry about it being revealed."
"It has nothing to do with shame," Art insisted. "Other people in the community have very definite ideas about incest. Both Cookie and I would lose lucrative careers if this became known. Also, we might well be arrested since it's against the law."
"Then you agree that in spite of certain laws, what the two of you have been doing is not really wrong."
"Most certainly," Art nodded.
"Ah, but what if someone else was doing it?" Ellen asked. "Suppose you were to discover another family involved incestuously. Would you think the less of them because of it?"
"If a father was forcing a daughter into something like this, yes, I would definitely be against him," Art replied. "But if it was something mutual on both parts, and if they did it out of love as Cookie and I do it, then I'd be the last person to chastise them."
"Suppose it was a mother and son instead of a father and daughter, and suppose they did it out of love, what then?"
"I would feel no different," Art insisted.
"Hey, wait a minute," Cookie broke in. "I get the definite feeling you're trying to tell us something, Mrs. Blackton."
"Do you, Cookie?" Ellen asked. "Tell me, suppose Keith came to you with the same proposition you were going to offer him? Suppose he said to you, I'll marry you if you're willing to share me with my mother? What would you do then?"
"Well, gee, I don't know, I mean...."
"You're hedging," Ellen said to her.
"No!" Cookie snapped. 'That's not so. If Keith was in love with you the way I'm in love with my dad, and he wanted you to join us in our marriage bed because it would enhance our marriage, I would definitely agree to it."
"And how would you feel about it?" Ellen asked Art. "I'd love it," he laughed. "I mean, it would open some really interesting possibilities, wouldn't it."
"Very interesting possibilities," Ellen said, smiling.
"I mean, if the kids did marry, and Keith and I shared Cookie, and, just for the sake of argument they also shared you, why what would prevent you and me from becoming friendly, too?"
"Not a damn thing," Ellen told him, smiling even more broadly. "Not a damn thing in the whole world."