I had to shake my head to sling that into place. "What?" I asked.
"I went to talk to her because I couldn't sleep. I was worried about the clothes and I wanted that lipstick back, but I saw Ash sneaking out of her room!" she insisted. "Dad, they were inbedtogether, and Ash was carrying his clothes instead of wearing them."
I nodded, buying a little time for my spinning mind to settle on an excuse. So Ash had been with Violet, huh? Well, it made sense, and it was late enough. What the fuck time was it anyway? I looked over at the clock to see it was almost a quarter to three in the morning.
"I'm sure it wasn't what you think," I told her, patting the bed beside me. "They've been best friends for a very long time."
"No," she said, refusing to sit. "Dad, you're not hearing me. I know about sex. I know what they were doing. The covers were off the bed, and her hair was all messed up, and he was only wearing his underwear! Dad, she's cheating on you and you need to know."
Yeah, well, crap. "Cupcake, it's ok. I love Violet and she loves me. Maybe they were talking about clothes or something." It was weak, but I hadn't been awake long enough for my mind to warm up. "Maybe she was just getting into bed. Maybe he was using the bathroom over there since it's closer to Cy's room. He's done that when I've spent the night."
"It wasn't," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.
Unfortunately, Meredith had lived with Brody long enough that my daughter knew what she was talking about. She was also smart enough that some shallow evasion wouldn't work with her. The easiest answer would be to tell her the truth, but Cessily had made it very clear that wasn't an option. Then again, I could hedge my bets a little and nudge her one more step toward getting her to accept this.
"Honey, grownups do things, and sometimes it doesn't make any sense to others. Violet isn't cheating, ok?"
"You just don't want to see it because you love her," she shot back. "The same way Mom didn't believe me about Brody."
"It's nothing like that at all," I promised, knowing we'd just entered very dangerous territory. "I believe you saw what you saw. I also believe that Ash loves Cy, but he also loves Violet, and that's ok. They've been friends since they were little. They have spent their lives together." I patted the bed again. "Sit down, Faith, and we can talk about this."
"Fine." She dropped onto the bed beside me.
"Did you know that when I first met Ash, I hated him?" I asked. "He knew she liked me, so he told me to meet her behind the barn, back where that old truck is parked. When I showed up, she was wearing nothing but her bra and panties, he was telling her she looked good like that, saying things I didn't think he should say, and I was sure they were a couple. I said some bad things, and I kinda punched him. He also punched back."
"He deserved it," she mumbled.
I chuckled at that. "No, he didn't. They were doing a photoshoot, and he wanted me to see that beautiful woman at her best. Didn't cross his mind that it might look naughty, or that I might get the wrong impression. To him, it was normal, because that's just how they are. He helps her dress, and they're best friends."
"But she'syourgirlfriend," Faith insisted.
And my breath caught. This was what I'd feared the most. Faith had been taught that it was just one man and one woman. We'd worked her up to believing that it could be two men or even two women, but that was as much as she understood. Undressed was for after sex, sex was for marriage, and marriage was for couples.
"She is," I agreed, desperately trying to dig us out of this hole without lying to her. "She also made it very clear to me before we started dating that she will curl up with her best friends. She will hug them, maybe even kiss them, and that any man who cares about her will understand that she cares about them."
"But not likethat," Faith said.
"Kiddo, being an adult isn't as simple as you think. There are things called nuances. I know Violet and Ash are close. Violet and Cy are too. I'm ok with that. If he wants to spend the night with her talking about clothes or whatever else they like, then there's nothing wrong with that."
"But they were fucking," she hissed, not even ashamed of using that word. "Sex,Dad. I'm not a baby, and I'm not stupid. She's cheating on you, and you deserve more than that."
"Cupcake, I'm sure there's a very good explanation," I assured her, desperately trying to figure out how to make this better.
"But you're good to her," she almost whined. "Dad, I like her, and I wanted her to be my stepmom."
"I know," I promised. "And I really like her. I also know that Violet isn't like most people."
"But if she loves you, then she wouldn't be with him," Faith insisted.
I reached over to pet the back of her head. "It's never that easy, honey. I love lots of people. I love you and I love her. One doesn't make the other a lie, does it?"
"That's different."
"Why?" I asked her.
"Because that's sex, and it's special. She's not supposed to sleep around. She's supposed to marry you and be faithful."
"What's faithful?" I asked her. "Is ignoring her best friend faithful? Or is it betraying him? This is what I mean about how being an adult is complicated. Sometimes grownups do things, and they're ok with things that are kinda messy and complicated, ok?"
