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Thanks to the Thinking Horndog for editorial review. Any errors that remain are my own.
Two weeks after his meeting with the cosche bosses, Joe stood once again in the same conference room. This time he was addressing members of Phil�s cosca. Ostensibly, as far as the outside world knew, Phil�s family was holding a reunion in the space so generously donated by his good friend, Joe Fanelli.
In all, there were thirty-two adults to transport to the primitive colony, including boys fourteen or older. The three women between fifteen and twenty, and the seven children under fourteen, all of whom were to go to Catania, had already said their goodbyes and been transported to the waiting ship.
Joe looked the crowd over, particularly Phil�s oldest son, Raul. Raul was unhappy, mostly about the fact that he�d not been allowed to pack in his sidearm.
Speaking to the crowd, Joe said, �I believe that Phil has told each of you what to expect�� He paused to see them acknowledge it, before continuing, �In that case there is little to be gained by postponing our business.� Several of his men moved in among the prospective passengers, handing out large Ziploc bags and markers.
�You know that you are to make the trip in hibernation. There is nothing to be afraid of. We have moved literally hundreds of people this way, and have never lost a single person. What it amounts to is a fairly long state of general anesthesia. At the same time, you body temperature is lowered in order to slow down your metabolism. You consume less oxygen and take up less space, which allows us to transport you all at the same time.
�In order for this to work, you have to give up some modesty, at least on a temporary basis. Please remove all of your clothing and place it in the bag you were just given. Use the marker to write your name on the bag. It will be stowed with your other goods and returned to you when you are delivered to your new world and revived.�
�Why do we have to go naked and drugged?� one of the men demanded, amid a lot of unhappy grumbling.
�That has already been explained,� Joe answered. �The transport ships are not Darjee colony transports. They are cargo transports built by humans. There isn�t enough space available to have extra people walking around. The ship can�t carry enough extra oxygen, or water, or food, for that; nor is it equipped to recycle them fast enough to keep so many people alive and fully-functional for the duration of the voyage.
�Remember, you�re going to be aboard the ship for the equivalent of about thirty days, but it�ll feel like you just woke up from a short nap when you get there. Believe me, it�s better this way. You can�t wear clothes in hibernation - it interferes with our ability to keep you alive and healthy. Be respectful of each other, and the nudity won�t be a problem.
�Your goods are delivered first, in a cleared area far enough away from other people to prevent them being pilfered, then you are revived one at a time, and sent to the same location. We will have people waiting there to help you. You�ll be given your clothes bags and a meal, then the access code to the transport module containing your goods will be delivered to your leader. Our people will transport out, and the terminus will self-destruct.
�Now if you�ll just queue up over here, we�ll begin loading��
It took some time to complete the transfers, because processing for hibernation had to be done concurrently. There just wasn�t enough room aboard ship to move everyone aboard first. In the end, Joe was unsurprised that Phil refused to join the rest of his family on the journey to their new home.
�Raul knows what to do,� he said. �I wouldn�t likely survive hibernation, in my condition, and if I did, I�d only be a burden to the group, even with this wheelchair. I expect to die any day now. I want you to take Luisa back with you now, as your wife. It would do no good for her to watch me die.�
�You know I can�t do that, Phil. While you live, she is your wife!�
�Then kill me now and she will be my widow!� he demanded, hotly. �It would end my body�s pain, and ease my mind to know that she is safe��
�Not going to happen!� Joe asserted grimly. �She will stay with you as long as possible. When the time comes, I�ll come back for her. Maria has already decided that we will wed. Whether she ever shares my bed is another matter, but regardless, she will be cared for. Now, do not further dishonor her love for you, and do not dishonor me!�
Luisa, who had been standing behind Phil, came around in front and sank to her knees while holding his hand. Looking into his eyes, she declared, �I will not abandon you while you live!�
Phil looked down at her with a pained smile.
�My love, I watched my Rita die. That is not something I wish to put you through. At the point where I become less than human, I will not know you, even though the heart still beats, the blood still flows, and the eyes still see. I will not be the man you love then. Before that happens, you must move on!�
Turning to Joe, she asked �Will you let me decide when I will go with you?� He nodded his assent. Turning back to Phil, she said, �Then for now, I stay. When I see that you are no longer in that body, I will go with Joe.�
Phil let go a deep sigh. It had turned out better than he had expected. If she was honest with him, and with herself, she wouldn�t have to see him drool or wait while an orderly changed his diaper. Perhaps he could die with some dignity. He nodded his acceptance, and permitted her to embrace him, as well as the chair would allow.
Joe provided them with transportation to their home. En route, he contacted Jim, the only other boss with whom he felt any kind of kinship, and asked him to take over management of Phil�s territories on a temporary basis. Phil agreed that it was the best course of action, and necessary to prevent chaos.
Joe left Phil and Luisa in the care of their housekeeping staff, and set about taking care of other business.
Phil stayed at home for less than a week, before moving into hospice care. He died thirty-two hours after that. Joe arranged for his funeral, and he, Maria and their children, stood with the distraught Luisa and her son, as family. Following the funeral, they all returned to the ship.
Nicholas returned to the ship quite shaken by his latest meeting with the Pope. His Holiness had not been pleased with progress in implementing certain portions of the plan. He had, in fact, told Nicholas that he would be expected to make another progress report in no more than three months, and that during that visit, he expected to be introduced to the new Mrs. O�Donnell.
He indicated that if Nicholas couldn�t handle the assignment to find and wed a suitable woman, he would feel obliged to select one for him. His last comment on the subject was a reminder that he expected to priesthood to set a good example for the people, and for each priest to take, and have progeny with, the maximum possible number of wives, up to the established limit.
His Holiness wasn�t far off the mark. Nicholas had no clue how to go about finding a bride. Meeting women as supplicants, in his capacity as a priest, had not prepared him for the social interaction required of a man on the make. I don�t even know how to go on the make, he thought. Maybe Joe or one of the Lentini boys could help me...
After dinner with the Fanelli clan, he sat staring into the brandy snifter, trying to decide how to phrase what he wanted, no, needed to say. He looked around the room at his companions. There was Joe, Frank, and Marco, of course, and a new recruit sent by the Vatican, Father Federico �Fred� DeAngelo.
The ladies, Maria and Luisa were conspicuous by their absence. That was not entirely accidental. Earlier, he�d given a brief synopsis of his problem to Joe, and Joe had in turn explained that if Maria got wind of it, she would without fail make it a personal mission to solve it for him. As much as he liked Maria, Nicholas didn�t want her managing his life at that level of granularity. It was more than enough to have the Pope involved.
He took a deep breath and began his description of the problem, which to him was that very involvement. He was willing to seek a bride, but felt that His Holiness was pushing things too fast. He preferred to sneak up on the issue, rather than run headlong into it.
Frank and Marco could hardly contain themselves, their laughter drawing a look of mild disgust from Joe. When it became clear that they weren�t going to take the matter seriously, he began drumming his fingers on the table next to him. That was a signal that even the Lentini cousins could recognize, that he was getting irritated. They really didn�t want Joe irritated, so they quieted down.
He hadn�t spoken yet, but when he did, he addressed them together.
�You know, I just realized that you two are nearly thirty years old, and you�re still single. Why is that?�
The boys blanched. Having enjoyed their bachelorhood immensely, they hadn�t given marriage much - actually, any - thought. They couldn�t think of an appropriate response, so they didn�t� make one, hoping that it was just a rhetorical question. It wasn�t..
�Okay, guys,� Joe said smoothly, �I�m making you the same offer that the Pope made to Father Nicholas here. I just brought home a whole shipload of nice Catholic Italian girls. I want to meet your brides, or at least serious fiancées, before he has to go talk to the Holy Father. If you find you can�t make a selection by that time, I�ll do it for you. How about that?�
�Shithead!� Marco said, looking at Frank. �You just had to start laughing, didn�t you? Now look what you got us into!�
�Asshat!� Frank snapped back, �You laughed just as hard. It�s as much your fault as mine!�
�Boys, boys!� Joe chided them. �No fighting between you. You need to work together. You�ve known this was coming for a long time. You�ve just been ignoring it. So get with the program!
�But first, let�s help Father Nicholas. I�ve been out of the dating scene for too long to have any useful advice to give, and I seriously doubt that Father Fred could do any better, but I know you two hellions have cut a pretty wide swath through the single girls you�ve met. What can you tell him about approaching ladies?�
Marco took a deep breath. �I guess the most important thing is to be yourself.�
Frank nodded his agreement, and added, �Then the next thing, is to find out what�s important to the lady��
Over the next two hours or so, the cousins gave a discourse on which approaches that they had found worked best in different social situations. You might say it was �Dating 101: How to get the first date.� They pretty much stopped at that, feeling uncomfortable with the idea of telling a priest how to get a girl naked and willing to have sex.
�So how did you two learn so much about women?� Joe asked.
�Maria,� Frank said. �She told us pretty much everything you did, when you were courting her - up to a point. Knowing her rep with guys, we figured if it worked for you, it had to be good!�
�Yeah,� Marco added, �she was a real Ice Queen! You had to be hot stuff if you got her to melt��
�Enough of that!� Joe grumped. Turning back to Nicholas and Fred, he continued �As the boys said, the main thing is to make first contact. That�s when you find out whether she has any interest in you, as well as whether you can be interested in her, as a person.
�Everything that follows is a test, intended to answer questions like �Can I be comfortable spending a great deal of time with this person? Can we avoid getting bored, or constantly irritated with each other? Can we actually enjoy each other�s company on a long term basis?�
�To get the answers, you go places and do things together. Spend time talking about what�s important to you, and what�s important to her. You need common interests and goals. If you don�t find much overlap there, then the relationship is probably not a good idea. It�s the same thing with personal habits. If she�s constantly wriggling her foot, and it bothers you, it�s going to be a problem, eventually.
�The bottom line is, you are trying to find out if you should be together. Like nearly all the time. It�s not just about who you have sex or sleep with, but who you can stand, who you want to be around, for that much of your life. If you find the right person, having sex becomes making love, and it�s important to make love, because babies should be born of love, not just intercourse.�
Turning back to the cousins, he spoke to them. �That�s where you boys have missed the boat. You�ve been successful at getting sex, because you�ve refined the art of approach and romance, but you never had any motivation toward finding love.
�That�s why your mothers stay pissed at you all the time. They want you to get serious about finding love, and make some grandkids for them, and raise those kids up in a loving, nurturing home. I�m telling you now, and you know it�s true, that you are too old to play those games anymore. Capisci?�
�Yes, sir!� the boys answered in unison.
He looked hard at Frank. �Your dad died how long ago?�
�Um� about three years, I think��
�Did your Mom ever remarry?�
�Uh� No sir��
�Good, since I don�t remember an invitation. Is she seeing anyone regularly?�
�Uh� No sir��
Joe sat silently for a few minutes, then said, �Frank, I want you to call your Mom, and tell her that she should plan to have dinner with me and my family tomorrow night, if possible. If that�s not enough notice, ask her to call me tonight and tell me when it would be better, okay?�
�Yes sir,� Frank replied, looking a little sick. Shit! he thought, I�m gonna have a priest for a step-dad!
Coincidentally, Nicholas asked himself, Am I going to have a Lothario for a stepson?
Fred resolved to make his own arrangements, before the matter was taken out of his hands.
When the meeting broke up, Joe went looking for Maria, to tell her of his dinner plans for the next evening. She took the news well, agreeing that Frank�s Mom was an excellent candidate, although she was somewhat miffed at being left out of the management of Nicholas� love life.
She had yet another bone to pick with Joe, however: he was, in her estimation, neglecting Luisa. Other than greetings in passing, he hadn�t spoken two words to her, since she came aboard the ship.
�So when are you going to ask Luisa to marry us?� she demanded.
The sudden change in subject left him unbalanced. �What?�
�You promised Phil, in front of her, that you would take her to wife. As far as I can tell, you haven�t asked her yet. When�s it going to happen?�
He closed the distance between them, and pulled her to him. She remained stiff, in his arms. It was obvious she planned to have it out immediately.
�You know that you are the only woman I need��
�You promised!� she shouted.
�Yes!� he barked back at her, �I promised, and I�ll follow through with it!� His face and his voice softened somewhat as he added, �But in case you haven�t noticed, I�ve been a little busy lately��
�Yeah,� she pouted, �but she�s been in the house now for two weeks. If you don�t marry her soon, people will start to talk.�
�I know,� he sighed. �What do you suggest?�
�You need to get to know her, and you don�t have a lot of time to do it. Take her on a few dates, and talk to her. Pretend you�re single again, and courting a new girl. I think you�ll like her, and if you turn on the charm, she won�t be able to resist you.�
�That hardly seems fair to you��
�There isn�t time for fair. I�ll be okay. I know you love me��
For the next few weeks, it seemed that each time Joe needed Maria�s participation in something, other than lovemaking, she was too busy with other things. At her request, Luisa filled in, which meant that Joe had a lot more time with Luisa than he had anticipated.
At the same time, Maria made sure that the two had at least some private time together each day. Several times, she prepared a picnic basket and sent them off to explore some unsettled part of Catania. As the planet was still very sparsely populated, there were lots of locations untouched by humans - pristine beaches, verdant forests, and the like.
Being together was awkward at first, and talking, difficult. Luisa was still in mourning, and Joe was reluctant to invade her personal space; but with so much pressure from Maria, they eventually bonded in self-defense, and began to converse and enjoy each other�s company.
It was while they were walking hand in hand, on one of those pristine beaches that Joe finally decided to take the plunge. He stopped and gently pulled her around to face him as he spoke.
�Luisa, I know you are here because Phil wanted it, but before we might wed, I would have to know that you want it, too. It is not enough that you are willing to do what you perceive is your duty. Even if we don�t marry, I will see that you and your son are cared for. There are many good men in my cosca. You might find someone you could love and whose children you would want to bear.�
�Where is your sense of duty?� she demanded hotly. �Did you not promise him, as I did, that we would marry? Am I so ugly that you would sacrifice your honor to avoid wedding me, and bedding me?�
�No! You are lovely! As lovely as I�ve seen. You are as bright as you are lovely, and your disposition is as sweet as can be. I would be proud to have you as wife, but you know that you can�t be my one and only. I love my Maria, and wouldn�t leave her for any reason, but in this new social order even she will be one of several. You deserve a higher place than that of a junior wife.�
�Phil told me himself that you had no equal among men in the cosche.� she replied calmly. �I have now seen you at work, and I believe him.
�I have also seen you at home, and how you deal with your wife and children, how you deal with me and my son. I see a man who knows how to love as well as he knows how to wield authority.
�In this new social order, I know that I will never be any man�s one and only, but if I can�t be one of your many, then I will belong to none!
�Now,� she concluded, moving up so that her breasts bored into his chest, �why don�t you see if you can stand to kiss me?�
Seeing no alternative, he embraced her, and did just that. She threw her arms around his neck and held his lips locked to hers. He decided that he really could stand to kiss her, and for a long time, too. They were both breathing hard when they broke the kiss. Just in time, too. Their bodies were telling them that the pristine beach needed breaking in.
Looking in her eyes, Joe said, �I guess I should ask you to marry me.�
�No,� she sighed. �You should ask me to marry you and Maria.�
�All right then,� he replied. �Will you marry Maria and I?�
�Yes!� she shouted, before pulling him back in for another kiss.
It was an unusual wedding, to say the least, but it set the tone for the future. Being the first polygynous marriage in the cosca, there were no precedents to fall back on. It wasn�t long after the proposal that Joe threw up his hands and told Maria and Luisa to just handle it.
The ladies decided that it wasn�t just a wedding of one couple with another partner, but a wedding of two families. Vows had to be adapted specifically for the occasion, ad the end result was a pretty complex set of promises. Each adult had to promise, not only to love honor and cherish each of the other adults, but to love, nurture, and protect, all of the children, and to regard them all as their own.
The ceremony was public, held in the very same auditorium in which Father Nicholas had been introduced to the cosca. In fact, Father Nicholas presided, and most of the cosca were present. There was even representation from each of the other colonies.
Joe and Maria stood in the places where you would find the groom and best man, in a conventional wedding. Michael was ring bearer.
Rosa filled the role of flower girl, and bridesmaids were drawn from the ranks of the single women who had been recruited from Luisa�s former cosca. Luisa�s escort during the bridal march was her son, Jason.
In many respects it was very similar to a traditional, formal, Catholic wedding, diverging only when necessary to accommodate a trio rather than a pair.
Jason gave his mother away, and all three adults took their vows. Both Joe and Maria placed rings on Luisa, and she in turn gave each of them a ring. Joe kissed the bride, then Maria kissed the bride, then Joe kissed Maria. Everybody cheered, and the reception began.
Alone at last, Joe beheld the vision that was his new bride. He could see Maria�s touch in the presentation of Luisa�s charms to him. He knew that Maria would do this - use his preferences and weaknesses to turn this new woman, who was delectable in her own right, into an irresistible force of temptation.
She lay there quietly, regarding him, making clear that she had expectations, but not what they were.
Maria had taken it upon herself to prepare him for his new wife. She had bathed him, and shaved him, then dressed him in a handsome robe before she escorted him to the bridal bedroom. Once there, she kissed him outside the door, and pushed him through.
He had no script for this play, and the last time he�d played this part was many years previous. He strode to toward the bed projecting a confidence that he didn�t feel. Once there, he held out his hand to his new bride. When she took it, he pulled her into a standing position, then into his arms.
Remembering the kiss on the beach, he suddenly wanted to recreate it, and to follow through to completion that which he had held at bay, that day. The fabric separating their bodies was much thinner this time, and he could feel the difference in texture between the soft skin of her breasts and the hardness of her erect nipples, when they were pressed into him.
He kissed her hungrily, and she returned his passion with an equal intensity. His hands roamed everywhere over her body, touching squeezing, caressing through the fabric of her peignoir, until he felt that that barrier, too, as ineffective as it was, needed to go.
Releasing her momentarily, he shed his robe and stood naked before her. It was the first time she�d seen him that way. She seemed pleased.
Moving back to her, he carefully removed her peignoir, exposing yet another of Maria�s touches. It was a duplicate of his favorite costume, differing only in color. This set was champagne, rather than white. Regardless of color, it had the intended effect. He was hard as stone.
Taking her once again in his arms, he told her: �Put your arms around my neck, and then wrap your legs around my waist.�
Her late husband, Phil. had been a much older man, and not quite so acrobatic, but she was game, and complied with the request. When she did, Joe turned them completely around, and sat on the bed, with Luisa in his lap and her legs wrapped behind him. He resumed kissing and fondling her, with her enthusiastic cooperation.
Eventually, he released her breasts from the confinement of the brassiere that she almost wore, and seeing her pink nipples unfettered was just too much temptation. He had to taste them. He broke the kiss and took her left nipple in his mouth. The best he could, he imitated a baby suckling at its mother�s teat, while he kept the other nipple busy with his free hand.
Luisa had very sensitive nipples, and to her, it seemed that there must have been a wire making a direct connection between them and her crotch. She could feel her vagina spasming and leaking fluid. She had no choice about rocking her hips: it was an involuntary response.
When Joe had satisfied himself with her breasts, he again returned to her lips for another deep, soul-satisfying kiss, and while thus engaged, he stood up, surprising his bride. He turned around again and sat her on the bed, legs dangling over the side. He pushed her back so as to lay her down, and raised her legs to his shoulders. Grasping the pretty panties at their sides, he quickly pulled them off without a hitch, leaving Luisa in nothing but her garter belt and hose. Maria�s touch again.
Seeing her treasure exposed, he sank to his knees and began to kiss and lick her vaginal lips. Slowly he worked toward her clit, approaching but not touching, then he withdrew, only to repeat the process on the opposite side. Frequently he stopped to kiss and suck the soft skin of her inner thighs, almost but not quite leaving passion marks. These were brief respites for her though, for as soon as she relaxed, he returned to her vagina with those same teasing kisses licks and sucks. When he sensed her frustration could get no worse, he suddenly launched a vicious attack on her tender clit, battering it with his tongue and sucking with his lips until she went over the precipice of an overwhelming orgasm. It didn�t take long.
As she was trying to regain her breath, he picked her up and rearranged her on the bed. Moving up between her splayed legs, he fisted his cock and guided it into her sex. Phil hadn�t been giving her much action for awhile, and she�d had none since she came home with the Fanellis, so although she was well lubricated, she was still pretty tight.
In spite of a near overwhelming urge to ram himself home, Joe took his time, pushing in and backing off repeatedly until he was fully seated in her body. Her breathing was shallow, but regular, and the look on her face showed determination, but not pain.
After resting for a few moments, Joe started moving a little. Luisa responded to that, by moving as well. As she became accustomed to the presence of his tool, the sensations became more pleasurable, and her motions more demanding of him. Very soon he was ploughing her furrow with wild abandon, and she was meeting his thrusts with great enthusiasm. Under the circumstances, it was understandable that neither of them lasted very long.
On the other hand, they had all night, and they made use of it often, before fatigue claimed them and they had to sleep.