The Collaring of Chloe

Chapter 41: The Last Piece in Place

"Well, it sounds like everything came out far better than you could have hoped or expected, Chloe." Grandfather Clock gave her a knowing smile as he handed her a cleanly washed platter to dry. His look suggested that he'd had every faith that his two best apprentices would find a way to make everything work out.

Taking the large platter from him, Chloe beamed back her joy with that final arrangement a moment before she began toweling the dish off. "It's so funny to think that, a couple years ago, I would have balked at the idea of even just casually dating more than one person at a time. Now, here I am in a deep relationship with three different people and it feels so natural and easy."

Clock's smile turned a little more philosophical as he removed the stopper from the sink to let it drain. "I'm glad you feel that way, Chloe, but don't forget that all relationships take work and effort, monogamous or poly. There will be times when it won't be so easy."

August sprang quickly into her mind. Not just for the drama that had formed at the end, but her own feelings of guilt almost from the very beginning. While Master and Mittens had been supportive of her exploring something with August, Chloe had always felt like she was doing something wrong whenever she fooled around with her. As though she were being unfaithful.

However, she'd not felt any sort of guilt when she'd been with Mistress. She supposed it was because August had only ever felt like a friend that she was physically attracted to. While she didn't have the same emotional connection with Mistress as she did with Master, there was still a strong emotional connection. Knowing that she would get to spend a couple weeks, or more, every year, completely at her command, felt thrilling and completely acceptable.

"It's already hard to fully understand, Sir." Chloe replied thoughtfully. "And I'm sure that there will be plenty of times when things get complicated, but I think it helps that I've gotten very lucky to have found the people I am with. They make it easier. They are all so good at communicating and understanding. I just hope that I can learn to be as good at it."

Grandfather Clock peered at her a moment, speculatively. "I don't get the impression that you have that much of a problem with saying what's on your mind, Chloe. You actually seem pretty open; from what I've seen."

Putting the dried platter away into a cabinet, Chloe frowned, turning to look at him. "I keep thinking that so much worrying and stressing could have been avoided if I had just spoken to Master from the beginning about Mistress's intentions. I was so wrapped up in my determination to not be allowed a choice that I never took the time to really consider that it wasn't just about what I might want."

She stiffened a moment, feeling as if she'd just been struck by some grand epiphany. She mentally back-stepped to consider her words. "Oh wow. Now that I say that, I realize that I've been so selfish this whole time. I thought I was thinking of others by considering if they would understand my decision or not, but I've approached all of this only really thinking about how I wanted things to be." A rising heat began to fill her face, a sense of shame creeping quickly through her.

Grandfather Clock reached out and put a hand on her arm, a gesture of comfort and support. "There ain't no wrong in seeking what you want, Chloe. I think, in this case, you're being too hard on yourself. Selfish people wouldn't have the kind of loving people around them that you do. Selfish people wouldn't have been so worried about how Vic might feel when you decided that what you wanted was to stay with James. I'm sure they feel the same way."

When she didn't immediately respond, he gently turned her to face him. "I've met a lot of people in my very long life. I have a whole education in understanding people and how the mind works. I've seen bad people and I've seen good people. Without question, you are one of the good people. The reason all of this feels so easy to you is because of how much you care and how thoughtful you really are of the people you care about. Don't you ever doubt that."