Claire Joins In (Chapter 2 of Isabella Plays)

CLAIR JOINS IN

Isabella came home from school one day with her friend Claire in tow. The two girls in their cute school uniforms giggled as Isabella, grasping Claire’s hand, eagerly pulled her up the stairs. “Canclairestayoverplease?” she asked, in a nod to decorum. Dan laughed from his seat in the living room, “Sure!” and with that the two girls were almost immediately behind Isabella’s closed door, giggling even more loudly, then quieting down.

Anne came home, the husband and wife made a simple dinner and called up the stairs, “Girls, there’s food available!”

The two girls yelled out from behind the door, grins in their voices, “Thaaank youuuu” and didn’t come down. In fact Dan and his wife had a very peaceful evening—they didn’t hear a peep from the girls the entire night.

As always, they left the dishes for Isabella to finish, of course.

---

The next morning the girls came down at nearly the last minute to catch the bus, ready to burst out the door. “ByeIloveyou!” Isabella yelled when her mom called out. “Wait, there’s something we need to talk about.”

Isabella stopped and slowly turned around. “Oh no.” Claire turned to her friend, “What’s wrong?”

Her mom grinned. “Well, Isabella has literally one job to do around here.”

Dan came out of the bathroom in the middle of this sentence and realized what was happening. “And she didn’t do it?

Isabella was staring at them, mouth open, mortified.

“Nope, she didn’t!”

Dan said carefully, “I guess she owes us… something… when she gets back from school?”

Mom laughed and winked at him. “Owe she owes us something right now!”

“Mommy!” Isabella cried. “I’m going to be late for the bus!”

“I can take you to school,” her mom said in a satisfied, final businesslike manner. “Claire, you’re free to go.”

Claire stumbled. “What… are you going to… what’s going to happen?”

Anne paused for a second, and Isabella went ahead and just said it. “They’re going to spank me.”

“Oh!” Claire’s head jerked back a bit, her eyes opened.

“Oh!” she said again. Then she turned to Anne, “Mrs. Foster, it’s completely my fault Isabella forgot last night. I kept distracting her.”

Isabella blushed, Dan noticed.

“Please don’t punish her. I promise it won’t happen again.”

Dan stared at Isabella’s blushing face and chest as he said, “Isabella is responsible for her own actions, Claire. You don’t want to miss the bus do you?”

Claire started to turn, and Dan could see Isabella stiffen. Even he had to admit he and Anne were putting her into a really embarrassing situation, not to mention the incoming pain she was about to experience. He wondered whether she might refuse to fuck them for a while.

Claire stopped now, and said, at first not looking at anyone, “Since it was my fault, I can—I can take the punishment instead?”

---

Three heads swiveled towards Claire.

Dan broke the momentary silence. “Your parents are responsible for punishing you, not us. If you broke a rule they have for you that’s between you and them.”

“I know, and they do have a rule, that I’m supposed to follow the rules at other people’s houses and not make trouble. And well, I…”

Claire blushed now. “I made trouble.”

Did the two girls now suddenly hide half a smile? Dan couldn’t quite tell.

Anne said, clearly stressed by this strange turn of events as Dan could tell by the slight quiver in her voice. “Well, Claire, then your parents will have to punish you for that if they think that’s appropriate. Today we’re going to be spanking Isabella. You’ve already missed the bus so I guess you’ll stay here and um, watch, and then I will take you girls to school.”

“But…” Claire was really going for this. “But that’s my dad’s rule. If I make trouble at someone else’s house, then they punish me like I’m one of their own daughters.”

Isabella didn’t turn to look at Claire but did quietly reach her hand out towards Claire’s. She squeezed it, and held it.

Dan spoke, “Well, I guess I can see the logic of it, but that’s not really how we do things…”

Anne broke in. “Dan, can I speak with you for a second?”

The two girls glanced sidelong at each other. Dan glanced sidelong at his wife. “Y-yes?”

“You two girls stay where you are,” said Anne. “I don’t want your feet to move an inch, do you understand?”

“Yes ma’am.”

Anne turned towards the patio, Dan trailing behind her—then paused, and turned. “Actually girls, I want you to wait for us the way we make Isabella wait while we’re deciding how much of a punishment she deserves. Both of you, on your knees, please, standing straight and erect with your arms behind your back.”

Isabella was starting to sniffle a little, but from both girls came the “Yes ma’am” and they knelt.

---

On the patio, they discussed the matter. Dan couldn’t believe it was even a discussion. “We can’t hit someone else’s daughter! We barely admit to anyone we hit our own! Spanking is… people think it’s… you know…?”

“Oh Dan, after what you just heard from Claire do you think her parents would hesitate to spank her? And she volunteered after she already knew it was going to be a spanking.”

A sputter, a start, and then Dan continued, “I honestly can’t believe you’re even thinking about this. Is it right to spank one girl because of something the other girl did?”

“Well according to Claire that’s what we’d be doing if we spanked Isabella!”

“Anne! Seriously?”

“I WANT TO.”

She said it.

“Okay? Dan? I’m just going to say it. I want to spank Claire.”

How could he respond. Of course he wanted to as well. Who wouldn’t? But it seemed wrong to act on that impulse.

“She’s… she’s gorgeous, Dan, and she’s literally asking for it. This is once in a lifetime, and I want to do it.”

“You… want… to spank her… because she’s pretty?”

“Yes. Say whatever you want. Now you know.”

He considered whether to form the question that had to be formed.

“I just want to ask one thing. You also think Isabella is beautiful.”

“Of course.”

“And you spank her as well.”

“When she deserves it.”

“Do you enjoy it?”

He knew that she knew he would ask that. The silence still felt just a slight bit apocalyptic.

Finally, she said quietly, “Don’t you?”

He didn’t say anything at first. Of course he enjoyed it. He hadn’t before, but more recently, as his sexual relationship with his daughter had grown, he had realized he was beginning to get hard while he was spanking her. He’d tried to keep that tamped down.

“Whether I enjoy it, or you enjoy it, isn’t the issue. I don’t think Isabella enjoys it.”

Anne was quiet. He could hear a held back sob in her voice. “No, she definitely doesn’t. She hates it.”

What could be said? Anne continued finally, “To be honest I think… I think she’s like me. I think she likes spanking, not being spanked.”

To Dan, this certainly checked out, considering the way things had gone on the family’s first night all together in bed.

Still Anne went on. “So I’ve been spanking Isabella when she breaks rules, and I’ve tried to be careful not to be too harsh and not to find excuses to spank her. But when I do, I enjoy it. I love it. And she hates it. I’m… getting off on it, and to her it’s maybe the worst thing that ever happens to her. I’ve been doing this and Dan I think you have been doing this too.”

He said nothing.

“And Dan. She’s fine. She loves us. She loves to… Our daughter loves to fuck us Dan!” she sighed this out, and actually smiled. “She came to us! She is in love with us and we are in love with her, and it’s fine. As a parent, we discipline her appropriately. If we happen to enjoy it, as long as we don’t let that make us take things… in a direction… then that’s okay. She needs discipline. How can we deny that?”

Dan said, out loud, “Hoo boy.”

“And I give her… opportunities… to do what she enjoys to me, even though I hate it maybe more than she does. And now. Claire is volunteering. And she’s gorgeous. And she should be disciplined, according to her parents’ rules. And you know what they were probably doing up there, she’s not lying when she says she was ‘distracting’ Isabella. Nothing wrong with two girls fucking but, they were both irresponsible about it. So she should be spanked. And you and I like to spank beautiful girls. There’s just no reason not to.”

“This is all assuming Claire is telling the truth about her parents’ rules.”

“Ha! Why would she lie about that? But of course we’ll verify.”

“Of course.”

“Of course.”

They looked at each other. They were going to do this. He leaned in and took her head in hand, and kissed her for a moment.

---

The girls were good, mostly, while the parents spoke on the patio. They stayed on their knees, bodies erect. But after a while Isabella let her arm down and once again found Claire’s body. Claire did the same, and they held hands. The moment they heard the patio door opening they quickly returned to position but the door was just barely out of view. Dan and Anne had plenty of time to see the hands jerk back into place. “So girls whatever happens to either of you this morning, leaving position will be some extra swats understand?”

“Yes ma’am,” they both said, looking at the ground.

Anne brought Claire her phone, and gave it to her. She had Claire call her dad, on speaker, and explain what she had done—distracted Isabella and made both girls late for school and her parents late for work. Anne then joined the conversation. “And Claire here said something very interesting about what should happen because of this. It was so strange to hear I’m not sure I believe it. Can I hear from you, as well, what your policy is in cases like this?”

Claire’s dad laughed and told them exactly the same thing Claire had told them.

Dan interjected, “I understand, there’s one thing I need to be super clear about…”

And Claire’s dad interrupted. “No, there’s really not!” He chuckled. “You can punish her as you see fit. Your house, your rules. It doesn’t matter to me how modern or old school your methods may be. Claire’s been through some really fun times at some houses, you won’t be hitting her with anything she can’t handle.”

Slowly Dan allowed the word “Okay” to come from his mouth.

---

Dan and Anne declared to the girls that they were both responsible, and so both would receive the punishment. Claire cried and said “Okaaaay” through her tears. Isabella just cried.

Claire watched Isabella for cues. Isabella stood up, pulled her skirt down, and her underwear off. “I’m sorry Claire,” she wailed, “it has to be bare bottom. You didn’t know!” Claire answered, “It’s okay,” not sounding like it was okay. Isabella then put her hands on the coffee table, sticking her ass out and up.

Anne nodded at Claire, “You do the same, next to Isabella, and we’ll administer the punishments simultaneously.”

Claire sniffled, “Yes ma’am,” as she removed the bottom half of her school uniform, revealing her butt was already lightly bruised, and took her place next to Isabella. She put her hand on Isabella’s, and the parents did not object.

It was to be fifteen swats with the belt for the undone dishes. (This was more than last time but she’d forgotten a few times since then, so they had increased the number of swats. Temporarily of course.) And added to that would be five more for the surreptitious hand holding while they were on their knees.

For making Anne late to work—five more. For making Dan late to work—five more. For making Isabella late to school—five more. For making Claire late to school—five more.

Forty swats in all. The girls looked sick to their stomachs.

Each parent pulled off their belt. The girls had been next to each other, but logistically this just didn’t work. The parents had the girls move to the ends of the coffee table. Anne took on Claire with her belt, and Dan took on Isabella.

Isabella suddenly said, just before they began, “Wait, oh no Claire!

Almost sounding annoyed, ready to get this over with, Claire yelled “What?”

“I forgot to tell you something!”

Anne yelled, “Silence Isabella!”

Isabella silenced herself.

“That was an attempt to delay punishment. Five more swats.” The girls yelled helplessly, “Noooo I’m sorryyyy!” as the parents began.

As always, neither parent held back. The girls had already been crying at the sudden addition of five swats, so from the first swat onwards each was positively wailing. The wails grew to panicked near screams by the fifteenth, and they weren’t even halfway through.

Dan took in the sight of his lovely daughter’s bruising buttocks, her friend (and probably lover)’s weeping face before him, and his wonderful wife, putting her all into taking in every moment of the incredible experience she’d found herself in the middle of. Seeing his wife’s barely hidden pleasure as she carefully aimed each swat and drank in the resulting vision and sounds, turned him on almost as much as the wiggling and wavering asses of the beautiful girls they were hitting together.

They reached forty, and Claire started to get up, crying through closed lips, her tears dripping shamelessly onto the table.

“Back in position, Claire,” said Anne.

Claire asked, “What? Whyyyy?” crying anew.

Isabella yelled. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t tell you! You didn’t know!”

The parents switched places. The two agonized girls were only halfway through the ordeal.

---

After eighty swats Dan couldn’t imagine what it felt like for the girls to sit in the back seat of Anne’s car, blubbering in each other’s arms. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like for Anne. Would she start to feel guilt, heartbreak? Would she look back at the crying girls in their cute little uniforms, imagining their bruised asses, feeling a twinge of pleasure? A combination of both?

He knew how he himself felt. After jacking off, anyway, he felt absolutely awful. In the moment it had been fun. But after it was over, as he came down from the experience, he felt more and more guilt.

He made himself get through his workday, and came back home, pondering how to address this with Anne. With Isabella.

As usual, he was at his place on the couch habitually watching the news when Isabella came home. And there with her, again, was Claire. The two girls walked in quietly. “H… Hi dad,” said Isabella. “Yeah uh hi Mr. Foster,” echoed Claire.

He froze up, feeling he should say more than this: “Hello girls.” But he didn’t.

Isabella looked at Claire then said carefully “I’m going to uh do the dishes now,” and Claire muttered, and chuckled darkly. “I’ll bet.”

Isabella paused. “So uh, another weird thing about my house I guess.”

Dan knew what she was about to say. It was his turn to blush, amazingly after what he’d done to the girls this morning.

Isabella pulled off her shirt. “I have to do the dishes naked.”

“Your family might be crazier than mine.” Claire was laughing, but it was a laugh like someone who is laughing at how awful a joke is, not at the joke itself.

“I know,” said Isabella, finishing getting naked, “It started as a punishment I think? But just became kind of the thing.”

“Yeah I know how that goes.”

Dan wondered what she meant by that, though he had some idea.

Isabella turned around, her incredibly darkly bruised ass now visible to all. She walked into the kitchen.

“Well uh,” said Claire. “Can I I guess, help?”

“Of course,” said Isabella.

“Okay…” said Claire. She then turned to look at Dan. Then back to Isabella. Then at Isabella’s clothes. Then she glanced at Dan, and began unbuttoning her shirt. She didn’t look at him again, but she also didn’t stop.

---

Dan never found a moment that evening to address the events of that morning, not that he had any idea how that could go anyway.

The girls finished the dishes, both nude, their obscenely bruised butts facing him the whole time, occasionally giggling and splashing each other—though Isabella carefully cleaned up any mess they made. She obviously did not want a repeat of the morning any time soon.

Dan just kept watching TV and watching them.

When they were finished, they came back to the living room, both girls now fully frontally visible to him in their nudity. He was sad Anne was missing this.

Isabella started to lean down for her clothes, then seemed to have a better idea. “Hey Claire, she said, “I think I’m just going to throw these in the wash and go upstairs, you want me to wash yours too?”

Claire glanced up at her. “Uh sure?”

“Okay, just leave your clothes there I’ll get them in a sec. Daddy?” she now said approaching him.

“Yes?” She obviously didn’t care about him seeing her naked, he saw her all the time. Somehow under the circumstances, for some reason, he was having a hard time looking directly at her.

“Claire and I are going to go upstairs now, can I get a hug and a kiss before I go?”

This was not a thing in their household. She said it like it was some routine thing. “A hug and kiss before you go!” like that was their version of “ta ta!”

But there was no reason to say no, and he never mind hugging her, nor kissing her of course. He reached to her, “Sure sweetie!” He somehow felt more comfortable staring at Claire’s naked body behind his daughter than at his naked daughter herself.

She leaned down for the hug, and embraced him, moving to sit on his leg, straddling it, without missing a beat. She embraced him tightly. He embraced her back. She whispered very quietly into his ear.

“I think Claire fucks her parents too.”

He looked up in surprise, checking to see if Claire had heard. She had not, she was just smiling blandly watching this strange hug. She must be thinking more about how this family is “crazier than her own,” as she had said.

Out loud Isabella now said, “And a kiss?”

“Of course,” he said again, and smooched her on the cheek.

“Dad,” she said sternly, and not jokingly sternly. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips, and then used her lips and tongue to open his mouth. For a moment it felt oddly like an invasion. But he willed that feeling away, and let himself melt into his daughter’s kiss, even as the other girl stood by watching. Claire’s eyes were now widening a bit.

Quietly, as they kissed deeply, Isabella began just barely, just barely, grinding her pussy on Dan’s leg she had straddled.

She disengaged from the kiss and looked him in the eye, “And of course, kiss me in the other place?”

His mind reeled at the possibilities. “The other um what?”

Isabella laughed but maintained her gaze. “Oh Daddy don’t pretend you don’t know,” (He did not), and she took his head in her hand and gently pushed his face into her chest, off center so that his mouth was on her breast, in fact on her nipple.

“Oh,” he said muffled from that position. Then he began kissing Isabella’s nipple. “Thank you Daddy,” she said sighing. “Your kisses always feel so good Daddy.”

He started to pull back up and she pushed him back in. “Oh don’t stop yet,” and her grinding became harder. “Um Claire?” she said breathlessly.

Claire was blushing deeply, but had simply stood and watched, one arm under her breasts, the other with her hand over her mouth. “Uh yeah Isabella?”

“My Daddy’s kisses feel really good, do you want a quick hug and kiss from him too?”

He couldn’t see anything because his face was pressed up against Isabella’s chest, but he felt it. Claire began to straddle him. “Yeah that sounds nice to be honest.”

Isabella took Dad’s hair subtly in hand. She didn’t pull hard. She was not forcing anything. She was putting him where he wanted to be. She firmly and lovingly moved his face away from her nipple, and onto Claire’s.

Claire moaned. “You’re fucking right!” she said to Isabella. “Oh holy shit, he actually is good at this.”

Dan wondered how anyone could fail to be good at kissing a nipple but he went with it.

The girls rode his legs for a few minutes while he continued giving each of the four nipples before him its appropriate treatment. Claire then leaned in and started kissing him, like Isabella, using her tongue to separate his lips. He kissed back, this time with no hesitation, only needing a second to melt into Claire’s kiss as much as he had with his daughter. But suddenly came to his senses and sat back. The girls were both continuing to pleasure themselves while he said, “Okay wait. Claire. We shouldn’t be…”

Both girl’s laughed. “Daddy don’t be a prude like you were with me the first time.”

“But… Claire… what would… your parents…”

Claire stopped humping his leg for a second. She nodded. Without a word, she got up and grabbed her phone. She then returned to his leg, and lifted the phone up overhead. She took a picture of herself nude, with Dan’s leg stomach and chest in clear view as well.

She showed Isabella and Dan as she clicked “send.” The phone said at the top, “Parents.”

A reply came quickly, from her mom. “Oh is that Isabella’s dad?”

Claire answered in text, “Yep!”

Then her dad texted, “Nice catch honey.”

Claire grinned at Isabella and Dan. Out loud she said “I think we’re past worrying about my parents Mr. Foster.” To her dad she texted, “Thanks!” then tossed her phone back onto the chair opposite the couch.

“Claire,” said Isabella, “That was so hot.” The two girls kissed in front of him, while riding his pants legs. How could he have been born into such fortune?

Claire now said, “Can I see your Dad’s chest?” Not asking him, she knew who was currently in charge of this situation.

Isabella grinned, “Fuck yes!” and both girls cooperated to remove his shirt. After gazing at him hungrily and laughing at each others’ reactions, each girl took a nipple in mouth and began licking, kissing and sucking, til he thought he might have an orgasm right there.

Isabella stopped for just a moment, still riding him, “No cumming daddy, don’t make a mess that would be gross right now okay?”

Dan nodded, helpless, and determined. And the girls continued.

He had known this would happen but had not prepared for what to say or how to react at all: It was around that time when Anne walked in, yelling “I’m home!” then turning to see this little hump-orgy that was happening in her living room.

---

Isabella’s face looked determined for a second, then immediately switched gears. With a sultry smile she turned to say “Hi Mommy,” and Claire chimed, grunting a little as she was nearing orgasm, “Yeah uh hi Mrs. Foster, are you um,” *grunt* “okay? Are you” *grunt* “mad?”

“A little bit,” said Anne quietly.

*GRUNT* “Sorry I… aaaaah… aaaghhggaaghghg!”

Claire was cumming.

Anne approached, like a teacher who has finally caught the student who’s been leaving her an apple every day. Isabella was too busy being close to orgasm herself to see the approach. Anne stood in front of Dan, winced sternly, then reached down and grabbed each girl’s bruised bottom.

This tipped Isabella over. She hated being spanked. She hated her bruised butt being groped. But this was just one of those things. She was right on the edge already, and the powerful sensation, as painful as it was, did the trick. Isabella shouted “Owowowowwwwfffggmfffaaaah motherfucker faaaaaaah!” and she was gone.

Meanwhile Claire’s orgasm, which might have been over otherwise, now extended itself. Claire’s face looked pained, not from the butt grab, but from the increased and continued tenseness in her whole body.

Now Anne put her arms around Claire from behind and boldly kissed her neck and rubbed her breasts. “Angry you guys didn’t wait for me,” she smiled. Then, still rubbing Claire’s breasts, she leaned over to kiss her daughter, and Claire collapsed onto Dan, now hungrily alternating between licking his nipple and kissing his mouth as she came down from her orgasm. Dan and Anne’s eyes met. Anne nodded. Meanwhile Claire murmured, “Mrs. Foster, Isabella, can I please make Mr. Foster cum now?”

“Fuck yes,” said Isabella at the same time as Anne’s “please do.”

---

It obviously didn’t take long, she had his pants open and several ounces of his cum on her hand within a minute or two. More surprising was how quickly Isabella had been able to make her mom cum with her own hand—roughly the same amount of time. Isabella said wryly “I think you must have been thinking about something at work all day today.” Mom smiled, looking away without a reply as the two of them sat cuddling on the couch.

Claire reached her hand, covered in Dan’s cum, over to Isabella and Anne. “Uh, do you guys want this? Or to share it?” The other two laughed and said, “No all yours!” Isabella made a face.

Claire shrugged and licked herself clean like a cat while still sitting atop Dan. “Ewwwww!” said Isabella and her mom laughingly shushed her. “Don’t be rude.”

Claire now settled onto Dan, again, like a cat, leaning naked into his bare chest as he remained sitting on the couch. Isabella was in the crook of her mommy’s arm, her mommy playing idly with Isabella’s nipples. It almost looked like the four of them were going to fall asleep right there on the couch.

Anne chuckled. “I don’t know what to do now.”

“Movie night,” said Isabella matter of factly.

“Movie night,” said Dan.

“Movie night,” said Claire.

“Okay then! I’ll order pizza.”

Their choice of movie is left as an exercise for the reader.

---

The girls finally did go upstairs, having never put their clothes on. Dan and Anne talked for a while before bed. Dan clarified that Claire had openly shown her dad what they were doing, and Anne reassured him that when she saw what was happening she had immediately realized either Dan knew it was okay, or he was being stupid in which case, there was no reason for her not to be stupid as well. Both of them fucking his daughter without making sure he and his wife were okay with it, was no worse than just one of them doing so.

For her part, Anne tried to reassure Dan, that this morning’s experience, especially as followed by the ensuing evening, had possibly satiated her. She may not feel that lustful needful desire to hurt a girl anymore. At least not for a while. She could be a normal parent again—normal for a parent whose daughter happily fucks her anyway.

He said she was probably lying to herself, and she agreed with a sigh, laying her head on his chest. “Well, anyway, I’ll have to find an excuse soon to let her, you know, spank me. She deserves it. We weren’t unfair to her this morning…”

Dan nodded. “No we weren’t.”

“But I got a lot out of it. She should be allowed the same opportunity, as much as I really REALLY hate it.”

“You’re a good mother,” Dan murmured.

“Thank you. And you’re a good father,” Anne returned, kissing his chest then laying back down. She fell asleep in his arms.

---

The next morning, as Anne and Dan idly ate their respective breakfasts, the girls came down after showering and dressing. “Bye girls!” the parents said. Isabella looked like she might be about to approach them, awkwardly stumbling over herself, but Claire took her hand. “Bye Mr. and Mrs. Foster, I had a really good time yesterday. A really good time.” The two girls now awkwardly grinned at each other.

“We did too, hon! Well I mean, a good time last night. Not the whole day of course!”

Claire’s face dropped at Anne’s clumsy attempt to course correct. “No I uh, yeah, uh of course. Last night I had a really good time.” Isabella playfully punched Claire’s shoulder.

Dan said, “I hope you uh… come back to visit in the future.”

Isabella quipped, “I bet you do.” Anne gave her a stern glance but then smiled.

A few minutes after the girls had left, Dan’s phone rang. He answered, and on the other end was Claire’s dad. Dan put it on speaker and all four parents briefly greeted each other.

“I know you have a busy morning probably,” Claire’s dad finally said, “So I’ll get right to the point.”

Then Claire’s mom continued, “We uh, we would like to ask”

Claire’s dad, “No pressure, we are just asking,”

Then Claire’s mom, “Of course no pressure. But we are hoping you would not mind,”

Claire’s dad, “Dan, we think your daughter is just a lovely girl all around, and we have, well,”

Claire’s mom, “We have a crush on her, we can’t deny it,” both Claire’s parent’s laughed nervously.

Finally, Claire’s dad. “May we please take Isabella out for a date?”

Dan and Anne stared at each other.

“A… date?”

Claire’s mom now rushed. “A perfectly respectful first date, we’ll have her home at any time you say. Just. Dinner and a show, that kind of thing!”

Claire’s dad, “We did hear of course how things went after the pic Claire sent us last night, please be assured,”

Claire’s mom, “Our daughter is very excitable and we often indulge that, but with Isabella we will follow any… any guidelines…” Claire’s mom trailed off.

Claire’s dad, “And if we were to go out with your daughter our own Claire would need someone to watch her,”

Dan interrupted. “You mean like a sitter?” He laughed. “Claire’s surely old enough to”

Claire’s dad now interrupted in turn, “We’d hope you’d do the honors of taking care of Claire during.”

Claire’s mom, awkwardly. “During, you know, our date with your daughter. If you would grant us that privilege!”

Dan hit mute, and looked to Anne for any cue whatsoever. She shrugged, not as though it didn’t matter but as though she were painfully unable to carry the burden of this conversation.

Dan hit mute again. “We’ll get back to you!”