Storiesonline.net ------- Dream State by JiMC Copyright© 2001 by JiMC ------- Description: What truly is the "stuff that dreams are made of?" Bogey's description of money aside, this is a tale of self-discovery for Jim when he confronts a rather strange and (hopefully?) unique ability. Or, is he just dreaming? (26 Chapters, 192,350 words total) Codes: MF FF Mult fant rom cons mc Mdom oral ------- ------- This work is copyright© 2000, 2004 with all rights reserved by its author. The author specifically states that this work may be redistributed, without charge, as long as it is published with the same the story name ("Dream State"), author ("JimC"), and that the story is distributed in its entirety, including the disclaimer and all chapters. You may also modify this story by partitioning this into multiple parts, as long as this disclaimer is included on each part. I specifically do NOT permit this story to be published on any site that charges any mandatory membership fees. The following is a work of fiction (actually, "FANTASY"). Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental and rather far fetched, if you ask me. This is a story that describes some sexually explicit situations in a fictional (remember fiction?) setting. The target audience is adults (people over the age of eighteen) with broad minds. This audience is getting harder and harder to find each year. Final disclaimer -- I doubt that any of the people would act in the way described herein, or even if things described herein are even possible. This is just fantasy, and should be treated as such. This fantasy takes place in the mid 1970s to late 1980s, without any fear from AIDS or any other sexually transmitted diseases, so don't try this at home. Author's note: The first two parts to this story were written as a setup for the rest of the story. As such, they are trying to convey a rather unique experience and don't convey much (or even any!) sexual debauchery. But you really should read them if you wish to enjoy or understand the rest of the story. ------- Chapter 1 "Dream... Dream, dream, dream..." A good story starts at the beginning, and as such, I guess my story starts in the mid seventies. The war (sorry, police action) was over, the draft had been dismantled, more or less. We were now working on a completely volunteer army. I signed up for military service instead of going to college. Conventional wisdom had told us that such an army would be full of hard-luck cases, and we'd lose the cream of the crop that we had been getting, but it had turned out to be mostly wrong. Military service drew a lot of people that were either pretty much committed to serving their country, and also drew a lot of people from the lower classes. The latter was obvious when you enlisted, but it turned out that having a patrician outlook was something that boot camp was very good at curing. (This wasn't my particular problem, by the way!) After boot camp, some genius had decided that I would make a good officer candidate, and I found myself almost immediately headed for O.C.S. This was unusual, since such candidates normally needed to have some college experience, but I wasn't one to argue. Officer Candidate School was interesting if unremarkable. It was obvious to me right at the start that the winning attitude there was to keep on saying to yourself, "I WILL LEAD! I WILL LEAD!" when any situation comes up, even if it means that people can get hurt in the process. It requires you to be able to assess a situation as quick as possible, and come up with an optimal solution and be able to implement it. Quick thinking and ingenuity helped, but you also needed to be careful not to challenge the hierarchy in any way directly. I graduated and became a first lieutenant, which was about the officer equivalent of a private first class in the enlisted ranks. I seemed to be on a fast track, however. I was soon promoted to Captain and was getting charge of a new unit called the Zulu Squad. The Colonel said that he would give me the details of my new assignment the next morning after I received my promotion. There was somebody coming down from Washington to help with my briefing. Of course, there was a party in the Officers' Club that night in my honor. The officers and non-coms in my soon-to-be old unit were giving me a farewell. I didn't do much alcohol, but I felt obliged to do the standard toasts. The party degenerated into a bunch of people gossiping together, typical Officer's Club stuff. Since I was not much of a party goer, I excused myself early, wanting to catch up on some reading in bed. I had first considered a game or two of billiards in the club, but decided that the night air (without all the cigarette smoke) was too inviting. I walked outside, looking at the stars playing games with the wispy clouds. The crescent moon showed a hazy light through the clouds off to the west. I was walking on the road, my mind on the stars above. All was right in the world. I never knew what hit me. ------- I heard the sound of voices, but couldn't see anything. I tried to make sense of my surroundings, but revelation just wasn't there. The voices were just a jumble to me, I could make out syllables, but couldn't make any sense of them. I considered this, and tried to focus on the voices. Low voices, and some high voices. How many were there? Two, definitely. Maybe three. Yes... that was a distinct voice. The first one and the second one again. Three people. I still couldn't understand what they were saying. The voices continued, and I became aware of a fourth voice. Four people now. I needed to open my eyes; if I could see, I might be able to make sense of this. I noticed that I couldn't feel anything. I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn't figure out where they were. Could I speak? No... I didn't know how! Funny... it never seemed to be a problem for me in the past. How does one talk? Open your mouth and breathe out... but I couldn't find my mouth! Oh goodness! I don't think I was breathing! Is this what it is like to die? Was I dying? Was I at my own funeral? No! No! I don't think I'm dead. Can anybody hear me? The voices continued, unperturbed. Maybe they weren't even aware of me. I had no way of knowing. After what seemed like an eternity, I came to the realization that I was in a panic. This couldn't possibly help me in my situation, whatever situation it was. Focus, Jim. Jim. I am Jim. I remember that. Jim is me. I have a mother named... (emptiness). OK. Let's go back to Jim. My name is Jim... Jim... Did I have a last name? I must have had one before, but it eluded me. Let's stick with Jim. My name is Jim. I am Jim. Don't panic, Jim. Things will work out if you put your mind to it. Focus again. ------- I don't know how long I tried to calm myself down, but it seemed difficult to just get past my own name. I still heard the voices, but I couldn't make out any meaning in what people were saying. Focus, Jim. Take inventory. 1. My name is Jim. 2. I can hear four people... wait... I haven't heard that fourth person in a while... maybe it's only three now. What else was there? I could hear... that was a sense! What were the other senses? Sight... Nope. I wasn't in a real darkness, but I knew that what I was seeing in my mind wasn't coming from my eyes. There was an "other-worldly" feeling toward what I was "seeing." Smell... Nothing there either. Taste? No. Touch... was I feeling anything? What was touch like? Remember, Jim! OK. I could sort of "see" something, although not with my eyes. I could definitely hear voices. They definitely had an air of actuality that my seeing sense lacked. What could I see in my mind? My mother? A blank. Anybody? Another blank. I tried to access memories, and felt that they were drifting just out of my reach as I attempted to get to them. There was something definite about some part of my mind. For one, I knew my name was Jim. For two, I could count. One and two! One... two... three... Futility. This was so hard... so difficult. No! Take charge! This will work GOD DAMN IT! YOUR MIND WILL WORK, MISTER, OR YOU WILL NEVER GET OUT OF THIS! There was something authoritarian in that attitude. I tried to reflect on what had happened, and listened to the voices. Nothing clicked. Blackness. ------- I woke up. I must have been dreaming, but I had no memory of any dream, just the blackness. I was back in that void. I still heard the three voices. I could still see something in my mind. Let's see. My name was... It was... Jim. I am Jim. Good. I started running tests on myself. I found that I was getting better. I counted to twelve hundred when it occurred to me that I was able to count. I remembered my last name. And my mother's name. And her dog's name. Memories started coming back, but there was something missing from them. Pictures! I couldn't picture any of the things I was thinking about in my mind! What did my mother look like? After a lot of struggle, I conjured up an image that was vaguely female, but if I attempted to focus on any particular part... say, the face... it would blur into the inconsequential. Your mind is a muscle, my teacher would say. (Teacher? Who?) You need to exercise that muscle. I never realized that thinking was such tough exercise. It felt so good to sleep... Blackness. ------- After eons, my memories came back, little by little, with a lot of work on my part. I believed that I had remembered most things that I should. Of course, if I didn't know that I had forgotten something, how would I be able to tell? Anyway, there wasn't any major gaps, except with visualizing things. Apparently, my mental calisthenics was working. Time for the next part... work on visualizations. I had avoided this before because it was very depressing. I knew that I should be able to visualize things, and I knew that I'd probably recognize things once I could figure out how to visualize them. THIS MIND WILL WORK, I told myself sternly. Exhaustion. Blackness. ------- I woke up again. I had lost count of how often that I fell asleep during my mental workouts. Something was different now. There was something glaringly obviously different. A whiteness that wasn't there before. WHITE! It was a color! I was seeing it! WHITE! It was a blur, but it was more than I had accomplished so far. I could see white... and it wouldn't go away as I tried to focus on it. I worked at it, trying different angles. The whiteness moved, and I saw that there was darker whiteness within the white. It was a puzzle, but I continued to work on it. The darker whiteness was coming into focus. Little round blobs. The light was a bluish-white, I could see now. The round blobs looked like transparent plastic buttons... After what seemed like ages, I realized that I was looking at the plastic pating underneath a fluorescent light fixture. I knew that I wasn't seeing it with my eyes; I was seeing it in my mind. It still seemed very real. I changed my point of view, and saw a new whiteness... a milky whiteness. I was now looking at a ceiling tile. I'm imagining a ceiling! The observation stunned me. A ceiling! My point of view shifted again, now a few feet lower. I could see many light fixtures intermingled with ceiling tiles. Look lower... a white wall... Nothing on the wall... just white. Look below... What is underneath me? I saw green, brown, and white blobs--and then a whole panoply of colors. I tried to focus on the colors, but they were moving. Tiny movements, but they were moving. Slowly... very excruciatingly slowly... the colors came into focus. There were three heads, huddled around something. There was whiteness underneath them. I could see them now. Heads that had something green on them. The picture started to clear, but very, very agonizingly slowly. There was four people in the room, not three. One was lying down. The three other heads were above the one lying down. They were moving too fast for me to focus on them. The one lying down wasn't moving. It occurred to me that I was looking at a patient in a hospital. This was strange. I don't recall ever having been in a hospital. Maybe I was remembering some movie, but this movie didn't seem to be familiar at all. Wait... the patient had a band on his wrist. Could I focus on that band? I shifted my point of view, moving slowly and liquidly closer and closer to that band. I saw the name on the band, and realized that I was looking at myself. It all went black. ------- I later awoke, and immediately remembered seeing myself in a hospital room. My memory exercises seemed to have been working. The dark gray blurriness was back again. I couldn't see anything any more. Suddenly, unbidden, I was there again: up on the ceiling looking down. I was in a different room now. There was a body in a bed... a hospital bed. Focus came quickly. The person in the bed had his face all bandaged. A leg was in traction, and I could see that a lot of the body was bandaged. I knew without checking the patient's wrist band that I was looking at myself. I looked around the room. There was a bed next to mine, made up and empty. The room looked quite empty. There was a television that was turned off, and a clock on the wall. There was a chair near the door. I looked the other way, and saw that I wasn't alone in the room. There was a woman wearing a dress uniform sitting next to my bed. Try as I might, I had to swear that I had never seen her before. Was she a missing memory? I tried to focus on the woman. I was sure that I had never seen this woman before. She wasn't dressed as a nurse, so why was she in my hospital room? Was I under some sort of guard? If so, then why? I looked around the room again, and found the clock that I had seen earlier. Something was wrong. I could have sworn that the time it had said before was 9:50 (AM? PM?). It now read 4:15. Where was time going? I looked back toward the woman in uniform, but she wasn't there anymore. Blackness again. ------- This happened a number of times. Seeing things from this mental point of view was very disorienting. I continued my mental calisthenics, trying to gather all my memories and test them out. Mathematics had always fascinated me when I was growing up, and I retrieved memories of math classes I had. I could see myself working out equations on paper. These were tests that I had in high school. I didn't know that I had remembered the questions so clearly! A sudden inspiration came to me. I had my mental image of my working out an answer--calculating square roots of numbers with decimals. I remembered the technique. I decided to imagine myself calculating the square root of two. Slowly, slowly, my imagined hand worked it out. 1.4... this was familiar. 1-4-2... was this right? I checked the work sheet, it seemed correct. 1-3-4-5-2-3-7-3-0-9-5... how many digits was that? Fifteen after the decimal point. The number "1.414213452373095" looked vaguely familiar, but how would I check? I copied the answer onto another paper, and did the arduous task of multiplying the two sixteen digit numbers. After a time, it came out: 1.999999688873028239887079879025 Very close to two. Let's see... for every two digits of a square root, you get one digit in accuracy when you multiply it to itself. This gave me a one with seven nines... about what I'd expect. This was weird, but I decided to continue my re-education. ------- It occurred to me that I hadn't looked in on myself in a while. (How long?) I opened my mental eye, and I found myself back in my hospital room. Something was different, though. There were no longer any bandages or traction equipment. Was that me? I appeared to be sleeping. I looked... different, somehow. There was somebody else in the room. That woman again... this time standing. She was in civilian clothes, now, but I knew it was the same woman. Only, she looked different, as well. How was she different? I tried to think back on the last time I saw her, and I saw here there again, sitting on the chair in a military uniform. I had never looked at her name tag, but I now had her old mental image fixed in my brain. Could I see it now? Yes! The name tag read "Cadley." That was her last name, anyhow. My view shifted back to her in civilian clothes. She wore a light blue short-sleeve blouse, and a darker blue skirt. I could see more of her figure now, standing up, and out of the not-too-revealing dress jacket. I ventured closer to her, and I could see a light blue bra through the sheer blouse. How was I seeing this? I turned my attention to "me" in the bed. I was still asleep. Turning back to Lieutenant Cadley (I remembered her insignia from when she was wearing a uniform), I saw that she was talking. I looked in the direction that she was looking, and a nurse was there. I tried to listen to what they were saying, and from somewhere, I started hearing them, like somebody turned on a radio. "... not changed at all, I'm afraid. He occasionally changes expression, but that's normal for his condition..." The nurse was talking, and it was the first words that I could hear... and understand... since... since... Blackness. ------- I woke up again. I found that I was alone in the room. Something was different... I found that I could hear things again, just like I did when I first entered this twilight zone. However, it was not like those disembodied voices that I knew I was actually listening to with my ears so long ago... this had the same "mental" quality as my visualizations of Lt. Cadley, my high school classes, and myself. I knew that it originated in my mind and not through my actual ears. The sounds were consistent, however. If I moved toward the window, I could see cars in a parking lot. I could see and hear car doors close. Then I noticed where I was. I was in the hospital in San Diego! I recognized the buildings across the street as well. The street looked different, somehow. The cars looked much different, as well. Could I venture outside of my room? I moved my presence outside the window, and floated down one... two... three... four stories to the ground level. I saw the main entrance to the hospital towards my right. As I made my way toward the entrance, I was startled by the sound of a motorcycle and froze! The motorcycle drove right through me... raising a big racket... and I lost my bearings... Blackness. ------- I woke back up again, alone in the room again. I decided to go outside again, this time being a lot more careful. I floated a couple of feet above the grass, careful not to get too close to anybody or anything. It was like I had no height or width. My presence was a single point, focused on a single location. I was about fifty feet from the main entrance, and I saw a newspaper machine. I could find out the date! I halted, trying to figure out a way to get into the main entrance without getting spooked by all the people that were walking back and forth, oblivious to my "presence." As I was wondering my next move, I felt something bump into me... and then heard a mumbled "Sorry, guy!" as it brushed through me. I looked all around, but didn't see what it was that had felt me, or spoke to me. I froze, and my attention returned to the newspaper box. The date! I looked all around, and saw that there was a break in the pedestrian traffic near the entrance. I moved quickly, and went right up to the machine. There was a paper in the window of the machine, and I quickly found the date... June 18, 1983. My heavens! Seven years had passed. Suddenly, I found myself back in my room. I needed to think this through. ------- Chapter 2 "It was in the stars..." I watched the clock across the room from my bed, and found that by really staring at it, time would appear to speed up. The clock hands circled twice. It should now be noon... June 19th. I went outside, and quickly investigated the newspaper. It was a different issue, and the date was indeed the 19th. I found that once I had "been" somewhere in my mind, I could instantly transport myself back there later. I was set to transport myself back to my room, when I noticed Lt. Cadley walking into the main entrance! I quickly transported myself back to my room, and then focused my attention on the clock, and on the door to my room. The hands started to speed up again, when the door opened. I slowed down the time, and watched Lt. Cadley enter my room. "I see we're still sleeping today, huh?" she asked my body in a soft voice. Not surprisingly, my body didn't move in response. "I start my new job next week, Jim. Manager at the night shift at Burdine's." She was talking to me as if I could hear her. Well, I could, but not in the way that she thought. "I'll get a 10% discount on purchases there," she continued. She must visit me an awful lot to carry on such a conversation. However, I knew that I had never met her in person. She talked about many things... her new job, her sister coming south to meet her in a few weeks. Mary was particularly animated, and, as it turned out, pretty interesting as well. I found myself drawn into her conversation... All too soon, she got up to leave. "Well, Jim. It was nice talking to you. You know, I just know that somehow, you are listening to me. The nurses seem to think that you can hear me, and even if you can't, it helps a lonely girl like me to have somebody to talk to." She looked to the door, and the nurse entered. "Still no change, Mary," the nurse said, shaking her head. "I know that someday... he'll come out of it..." "I know he will. I made a promise to visit every day, and I'm damn well gonna do so until he wakes up." The nurse gave her a slight smile, and quietly left the room, shutting the door behind her. Lt. Cadley... Mary... bent over my sleeping form and planted a little kiss on my cheek. "Have a nice day, Jim. One of these days, I wish you'll be able to come home with me." She got up and left. I looked at my sleeping body, and suddenly the word COMA formed in my mind. I was in a bloody coma! For seven fuckin' years! I needed to get out of there... but where? Wait! Lt. Cadley said something about inviting me home with her... I transported myself to the main entrance, hoping she hadn't already left the hospital. I hovered a couple of inches above the newspaper machine, watching people going in and out of the main entrance. Well, if I missed her today, I'll see her tomorrow. She said she visited me every day... There she was! She had her pocket book slung over her shoulder. I watched, mesmerized, as she walked past, and I realized that I might lose her. I quickly followed her, and then forced my "presence" to anchor itself right about her handbag. She got into her car, and put the handbag (with me) on the seat next to her. She went to turn the key in the ignition and her hand started shaking... "Oh, Jim!" she cried. "You've GOT to get better. I can't stand to see you there, not responding to anything." She turned toward me, which startled me completely. She was going into her handbag. I moved my presence away from her purse, but still on the seat. She fumbled around in her purse and found a tissue. She dabbed at her eyes, and blew her nose. Taking a deep breath, she reached for the key again, and turned it. The engine roared into life. Who was this Lt. Mary Cadley? I tried to recall if I had ever known such a person. Did I have amnesia? Many questions went through my head as we started driving off. My mind went introspective again, and I tried to dig up some memory... anything... about a Lieutenant Mary Cadley, and I continued to come up empty. I noticed that her purse was gone, and I looked around, desperate to find her. We were parked in a garage, and I saw her walking toward a door that led indoors. We were near the harbor, and I could sense that we were near a restaurant. I became acutely aware that I couldn't smell anything, expecting the fishy smells that surround such a place, but I could still sense that we were near the waterfront. I followed her, and she walked into a side door into a building. I didn't recognize the building, since I never frequented this part of town before. We were in a restaurant kitchen, and once again I was acutely aware of not having the sense of smell. She went into a tiny office, and put her purse onto a chair. I shifted my point of view and looked out through the restaurant. It was a seafood place, and the joint was about a quarter full. I found a patron that had just been seated, and was looking over the menu a bit when I noticed Mary Cadley walking toward us. She was a waitress! I found a vantage spot where I could watch her and most of the restaurant. After a little while, though, I got bored, and transported myself to her car. There was a clock in there, and the time read just 1:00. I stared at the clock, watching the hands move quickly... It was 7:05, and the car was in motion. I looked next to me, and Mary was driving the car. Her purse was on the floor under the seat where my presence was hovering. She was intent on the road, and eventually pulled into a little parking lot outside a small apartment complex. She used her key to open the door to the complex, and then walked up a flight of stairs and opened her apartment door. She flipped on the light, and walked directly into the bathroom. Of course, I followed her into the apartment. While she was using her toilet, I looked around her apartment. There were a few well-thumbed books on her bookshelf. I didn't recognize any of the names of the authors, though. I floated into her kitchen, and noted how nice and clean the entire apartment was. It definitely had a woman's touch to it. I froze as I realized that she had just walked right through me... it was something that I figured that I'd have to learn how to live with, or how to avoid. She was dressed in a robe; I couldn't tell if she had anything on underneath it. Funny, I remembered a time before when seeing a woman in a robe like that would get me horny, but I had no such feelings at this time. Probably just as well... I had no equipment with which to act on such feelings. She opened her refrigerator and pulled out a can of Diet Coke. Then she left the kitchen, and curled up onto the large easy chair in the living room. I noticed that the television was on. I watched her, and the television, for a bit, but I didn't recognize the shows or the people in them. I guess time must have sped up for me, because the next thing I knew, she was yawning and stretching and the television was off. She got up from her chair and headed toward her bedroom, adjusting the dimmer on the wall to make the light in the living room very dim. I debated whether to go into the bedroom with her... after all, she'd had already been in MY bedroom at the hospital. I must have thought for a while, because when I went into the room, there was a digital clock next to her bed that read 2:12 AM. She had left the door to her bedroom open, and I could just make out her features in the dim light from the living room. She was asleep. I felt the desire to give her a kiss. I got closer... closer... closer... and then realized that I didn't have any lips! Still, I went closer until... I felt strange. One second, I was floating above her bed, the next second, I was laying down, stretched out, underneath some covers. I didn't see her any more... just colors. Then I saw an image of Mary, running in a park. This wasn't the Mary that I knew... it was a very young Mary... eight or nine years old. She was playing with... Mommy! Her mommy! I knew this was her mommy... just as I knew that the young girl was Mary. I could hear the squeals of her laughter in her mind. It occurred to me that somehow, in her dreams, we had merged together. I watched her dream, fascinated. The little girl disappeared, and she was now back at the restaurant. She had given her notice today that she was taking the job at a department store in the mall... That scene played out, and another one took its place. It was a dark night, and something told me that something was wrong here. Mary was driving... it was a pretty dark night. Mary could feel the breeze... the windows must have been open in her car. It occurred to me that this was the first time in a while that I could actually "feel" something, even though it was somebody else's experience. In her dream, Mary looked out the windshield and saw a crescent moon, partially obscured by clouds. There was something about the way the moon and the clouds looked that seemed very familiar to me, but I couldn't place it. She wasn't really paying attention to the road, when all of a sudden, she heard a terrible thud. She hit the brakes quickly, not knowing what she hit. I could feel her body shaking, and noticed it wasn't the dream, it was her actual body shaking. I could feel it! Back in the dream, she pulled a flashlight out of the floor behind her driver's seat, and went outside to find out what kind of animal she hit. She flashed it on the front of the car... it was a jeep... and found the entire bumper was crimson with blood. Her heart sank, and she thought it must be some large dog. How would she explain this to the owner? She walked to the right side of the vehicle, and shined the light. There was a big puddle of blood, with a carcass in the middle of it a few feet behind the car. She walked quickly toward the animal, and noticed that this animal was wearing an officer's uniform... It was me! She woke with a start, sobbing uncontrollably. I found myself floating above her bed, our "merge" having ended when she woke up. She instinctively reached toward her night stand and found a tissue. My heart sank to see her in such misery... such pain. I suddenly found myself back in my hospital room, looking very much the way that I usually did nowadays. ------- So that was who Mary Cadley was. Apparently, I was hit by her car while we were both staring at the stars and the moon. Somehow, I knew from my time being merged with her mind during her dream that this wasn't an unusual dream for her. I knew that she constantly had nightmares about it. Yet... she still came to visit the poor schmuck that should not have been walking in the middle of a dark road late at night. ------- I thought about Mary a lot. I was back in my own mind, not wanting to venture out. I don't know how long I was there, feeling somehow guilty that I was the cause of that beautiful girl's agony and pain. I didn't want to go back outside... I couldn't face her knowing that I was somehow the cause of her pain and suffering. Then I heard something... not with my mental "hearing" but something more consequential. It was a woman's voice. Whispering... saying, "a nice day, Jim." It was Mary's voice! Then something weird happened. I felt something on my cheek... she must have kissed me again. Wait... I felt something! I wanted to shout, "MARY!" but all I managed was a very dry croak. Something was wrong. There was no more sound, no more movement. I knew that Mary was still there. I needed to "get out" and see what was going on. Mary was looking at my body with disbelief in her eyes. In her hands was a white plastic box; she was pressing a button again and again. Suddenly, the door burst open. The nurse rushed in. "Mary! What on earth are you doing?" "He said something. I know he said something!" she screamed. The nurse looked at me and then at Mary, sadly. "Come on, Mary. This isn't the first time you've told us..." "No!" she cried. "It was like he was trying to say something. I know it... I just... KNOW it." Mary had a look in her eyes that made the nurse back down. "OK, Mary. I'll call for the doctor. His condition doesn't really appear to have changed, however." The nurse pushed a button on the wall above my bed. There was a speaker there. "Camille, please get Dr. Plotten into room 406. Do you have a reading on our patient's signs there?" There was a pause. Then, a tinny voice replied, "I see a spike in Jim's vitals about 90 seconds ago. Very brief, though--about ten seconds." Mary was shaking her head. "It was like he called my name..." The nurse moved a curtain around the bed, and then escorted Mary out of the room. My presence followed them. "Mary, you told me that you have never even met the man before the... the accident," said the nurse. "I know. It's just so weird. I know that's what he was trying to say." Behind Mary, a doctor was looking at a printout behind the nurses' station, and then walked into my room. A few minutes later, he walked out. Mary stared at me for a few more minutes and finally walked out to the nurses' station. "Hello, Mary. I hear we had a little start, today." Mary sighed, crushed. "You mean he's not waking up..." The doctor held her hand in his and looked into her eyes. "There was definitely some activity, I'll have to agree. He's back to his usual readings. There is still definitely some hope, Mary." She nodded, unable to come up with words. I saw the look on her face, and transported myself back into my own mind. I was the one that was causing this wonderful creature such pain. ------- After some time just thinking to myself (who knows how long?), I decided to "go out" again. It was dark in the room, obviously night time. I moved through the closed door into the hallway. There was a nurse at a station with a bank of machines. I didn't want to walk the hallways, I wanted to talk with Mary. The problem was that I didn't know where she lived... I was hovering too low on her seat to get any landmarks when we drove together. Wait... I had already been there. Maybe I could... I found myself in her apartment. I floated into her bedroom, and noticed that it was just before 3 AM. I floated closer and closer to her, the way I did the last time, and suddenly, I was back in her mind. I had the germ of an idea... I could maybe talk to her in her dream. She was in a store, looking like she was looking at outfits. She wasn't too eager to purchase anything. There was a nondescript salesman in the dream. She turned away, looking at a couple of outfits. I thought as hard as I could, trying to do something that would affect the dream in the slightest way. I pushed... I pushed... and then I felt something give. I was there, in full dress uniform. I turned to the dream-Mary and spoke to her. "Mary? Mary Cadley?" I called out. Mary turned to look at me, not recognizing my voice. "Who are..." she started, and then looked again. "It's me... Jim," I answered. "Jim! It's so... so... nice to see you!" She rushed over to me. I smiled at her. I could also feel sleeping-Mary tossing and turning in her sleep. This dream was starting to upset her. I figured that I didn't have much time. "Mary, there's something very important that you should know. I am not mad at you, nor would I ever be mad at you. I love you..." She was shaking her head, in her dream, and also in bed. I didn't have much time. "Mary, I could never be mad at you. I need you..." I was hovering over her bed again. She was sniffling in her sleep. I knew she was no longer dreaming. The connection had been cut. I transported back to my own mind. ------- I heard her voice again. For real again. "Jim, I had the weirdest dream about you last night," she said. "It's weird, really. You were dressed in your uniform, and you looked about ten years younger." I tried to reach out for her, and failed miserably. Again, there was silence. Should I go out and see what's happening? I heard the door open. "Mary, what is happening with Jim? His vitals are spiking again, and this time they aren't stopping." "I was just talking to him..." Mary began, unsure of herself. "Keep doing it!" demanded the nurse. "I've sent for Dr. Plotten again." "Oh, Jim... please wake up," pleaded Mary. I tried to respond, but I couldn't. I felt something warm on my hand. I tried calling out, and again there was that awful croak. "I heard that!" exclaimed the nurse. The door opened again, and the nurse starting talking quietly to somebody else. Mary continued to hold my hand--it had to be her holding my hand--and continued calling out to me. "Jim, Jim... I know you can hear me..." I had to see what was going on. I "went out" again. Mary was indeed holding my hand, talking to me softly. "Doctor," came a tinny voice. "Yes, Ms. LeBlanc?" asked the doctor. "His signs have flattened again." You could see all the hope leave the room. All except for Mary, who continued to hold my hand and call out to me. The nurse and the doctor watched her for about five minutes, then quietly left the room. ------- I tried to pay Mary nightly visits, my way of paying her back for her daily visits to my hospital room. At first, she would shake her head "No!" and break the connection, but eventually, she started talking back. It got so that we could have conversations together. She'd talk to me for an hour or two during the day, and I'd talk back to her at night, giving her my own personal thoughts on what she discussed. One day, when she was visiting me in the hospital, she asked the question that had been bugging her for a while. "Jim, if you are really able to communicate with me," she said softly, hoping nobody would overhear her, "then why have you stopped trying to wake up?" When she went to sleep that night, I was waiting for her. "Mary, dearest. If I only knew how to wake up, I'd get up this instant, find you, take you into my arms, and hold you forever!" I pledged to her. "Jim, they say that you aren't even trying any more. If anything, your condition is taking a turn for the worse," she told me, talking to me in her dream. "What do you want me to do?" I asked. "Just TRY, Jim," she pleaded. ------- I transported myself back to my own mind. I had been "going out" more often, just wandering around. It occurred to me that when my mind is elsewhere, it can't possibly be trying to wake itself up. I thought long and hard about waking up. I could occasionally hear things going on around me in my room. It was always easier when Mary was around... as if she was some sort of amplifier. I heard sniffing, and "went out" of my body to see what was going on. Mary was in the room, and asking me why I no longer visit her. Huh? I thought. I had been there just a night or so ago. Or so I thought. I remembered that time seemed to slip away when I wasn't paying attention to things. She was getting ready to leave. She looked around, and started for my bed. Instinctively, I knew what she was about to do. I transported myself back into my own mind. She bent down and kissed me. "Um..." she hummed. After about five seconds, she bent back up, and started to walk away... WAIT! I wanted to scream. "Waaaaaaa" My eyelids fluttered open, and I was greeted by a shock of white light. Instantly, I clenched them closed. "He's awake," Mary called out. "He opened his eyes!" ------- Chapter 3 "A Match Made in the Heavens" It was a few months after my awakening that I was finally allowed to check out. First, I had been debriefed by the shrinks, who wanted to know what I had remembered. They had been prepared for some amnesia to be present, but unknown to them, my mind had been exercising quite a bit since I came to within my own head. I wondered quite a lot about my "out of body" experiences during the time that I was in the coma. I was hesitant to tell any of the shrinks about them, and Mary never said anything to anybody (or even myself, while I was in the hospital). I had decided that it may have been some hallucinatory dream during the coma, and I didn't worry about it too much. It took some time to satisfy the shrinks that I was mostly normal, but I think I succeeded in pulling it off. In addition to the shrinks, there was the physical therapy. Spending a dozen years in bed causes muscles to atrophy. Although my muscles complained a lot at first, it felt good to be up and about, even though my body was no longer in the prime shape it had been when I was in the service. I was lucky in that the staff at the hospital I was at had dealt with many comatose patients in the past, and had provided well for me while I had been out, with regular massages and body stretches. Still, it galled me that it took so long to just get back into a condition where I could walk, throw a ball, and do hundreds of other activities that most people take for granted. Mary had kept her promise to herself by visiting me every day, introducing herself as somebody that had met me while I was in my coma. I understood her guilt that was the basis for her visiting, and decided to let her tell me about how she really met me on her own terms. Meanwhile doctors and nurses poked, prodded, ran tests, and help me undergo my rather intense (for me, anyway!) exercise regimen. I was no longer on active duty, my "tour" having long been up. I felt a bit of a loss, since I had wanted the service to be my career; what was I going to do? Some bureaucrats decided that despite the fact that I wasn't technically disabled, I got put on a seventy-five percent disability. (Apparently, things have changed nowadays, and this sort of "bonus" is notable only in its rareness.) Somehow, I also got bumped up a couple of pay grades and cost of living increases. All that, along with a disability pension, back dated to the time I was first in the coma, meant that I had a nice nest egg in my savings account. All told, I saw that I could live pretty comfortably. Eventually, the doctors had to admit that they couldn't keep me any longer, and the big day finally came for my discharge. When that day arrived, Mary appeared in my room. I had asked her to purchase me a new set of clothes, and she had them with her. Up until this time, I had been wearing hospital gowns during my coma, and the base supplied me with fatigues and sweat suits since I woke up. I knew that I'd have to learn to live in civvies again once I left the hospital, and I could tell by what others were wearing that my tastes in clothing was a bit too "retro" for current fashion sensibilities. Mary put me into a wheelchair and escorted me out of the hospital along with a pretty Nurse LeBlanc (Camille), who was one of the nurses that had taken care of me while I was in my coma. I thanked her for everything, and when I got to Mary's car, I felt a little sad leaving the hospital. After all, I had spent a dozen years of my life there. After saying my good-byes to Ms. LeBlanc (who surprised me by kissing me good bye), I got into Mary's car. I had an odd feeling when I sat down in her car; it was the same seat that I had "ridden" in with Mary on one of my first journeys outside the hospital in my mind. Mary first took me to the bank where she worked to open up a new account where my disability "checks" would be electronically sent. She expedited my application for a credit card (Visa), and handed me something called an ATM card. For my PIN number, I first thought of using the first two and last two digits of my ASN (Army Serial Number, that number you are supposed to give your captors when you are a prisoner). Mary suggested that this number might be "guessed" by somebody familiar with me--an apparently common problem with people picking PIN numbers, due to my unfamiliarity with the concept, I accepted Mary's advice. Despite the fact that I was good with numbers, however, I didn't want a computer to pick out a random number, so I settled on "0618," which happened to be the date on the newspaper the first time I knew the date while I was in my coma; I figured that this would be a difficult thing for anybody but me to know. After my financial situation was all set up, Mary spent the day with me picking up some more clothes, and even helped me pick out a small apartment. It turned out later that my apartment was not too far from where Mary lived, herself. It was now late afternoon, and the two of us celebrated my freedom with a picnic lunch at a nearby park. It was a Friday, and Mary had taken the day off from her banking job as a vacation day. I had a few things I wanted to tell Mary, and I could tell that she had wanted to tell me some things as well. The day was wonderful (you don't know how wonderful it is to smell fresh air--even in California--when you've been in a hospital for over a decade!), the sun was warm. Mary had some fried chicken in her car's trunk that she had made the night before in anticipation of my being let out. We spread out a blanket in the middle of an empty park (most people being at work), and I laid down on the blanket, enjoying the warm sun on my face. I didn't have to look at Mary to know that she was desperately trying to figure out how to say what she had to say. Finally, she steeled herself and took a deep breath. "Jim," she began. "I don't know how much they told you in the hospital. There's something you need to know..." I cut her off. "Mary, Mary. Believe me, I already know. You were driving on the base at night, looking at a crescent moon behind the clouds, when you hit me. You didn't even know at the time that it was a person that you hit. Am I correct?" She looked at me, shocked. "I've never told ANYBODY that I was looking at the moon that night... not even the MPs..." "I wasn't paying attention that night, either. I was looking at the stars, myself. I didn't realize that I had wandered into the middle of the road." "How did you know what I was doing at the time?" she asked. It was my turn to take a deep breath. "Mary, somehow, we managed to connect." She looked at me funny. "What I mean is, somehow, I was able to see you... back when you were in my room wearing a Lieutenant's dress uniform. I saw you visit me, once telling me about your job at a restaurant, telling me about a new job at Burdine's." Her look turned to shock. "I even remember talking to you in your dreams. Telling you that I could never be mad at you, and that I love you..." "This cannot be happening," she cried. "I even remember you telling me that I wasn't trying to wake up any more, that I was taking a turn for the worse, and that you wanted me to TRY to wake up." She bent over me, and hugged me tight. "Then I wasn't just dreaming all that?" she asked. "No, Mary. Well, you were dreaming, but we were both dreaming it. At the same time. We were communicating!" "How is that possible?" Mary asked. "I don't really know. It was very weird back then. Hell, it's still weird! My mind may have been playing tricks on me, but I knew what you looked like before I woke up. I knew who you were. I knew that you kept visiting me, and I knew that you felt very guilty about causing my condition." Mary's tears were freely flowing right now. I continued, "I wanted to let you know that I never blamed you for that. It was partly my own fault, and what has been done is done." Mary continued to hug me. "Somehow, we connected," I said. "Maybe it was when I was looking at the stars and you were looking at the moon. I don't know. Maybe it is a match made in the heavens... !" She giggled while continuing to hug me, her tears lessening. I could get very used to her hugs, believe me. "Listen, Mary. My apartment is pretty crude right now, I mean, I just moved in today. Could we go out to dinner tonight? I've been eating hospital food since... well, even before I woke up! Your chicken is great... but I'd like to go to a restaurant tonight. With you." She pulled up and looked at me. "Really?" "Really. There's this place, I know. A little Mexican restaurant called Bodega. Ever hear of it?" "Oh, Jim! That restaurant closed five years ago!" she cried. I sighed. Those missing twelve years were going to take some getting used to. "Well, Mary. Do you know any other nice place to eat?" She looked thoughtful. I could tell she wasn't sure what my budget was and didn't want to embarrass me. "How about Peter's? They do a good seafood business here." "Sounds nice. Am I dressed alright for that place?" "Sure thing, buster. Of course, I'll have to put on something a bit nicer..." I looked at her. She was wearing a light tan top with a darker tan skirt. I remembered seeing her in a similar light/dark combination in blue. I grinned mischievously. "How about that light blue blouse with the dark blue skirt?" I asked. She looked at me. "Oh, I haven't worn that in years..." and stopped herself. "You really do think you actually saw me, don't you?" I nodded. "Yes, but please don't go telling the shrinks about it, or they'll have me for another six months of tests and stuff." "I wouldn't do that. I think I can find a nice outfit for tonight," she replied. I grinned at her, and then held her arms to her sides. "Oh, Mary... I just noticed, you got a teeny piece of chicken on your chin..." She struggled to free a hand to wipe her face clean. "Where?" she demanded. "I'll get it for you," I said, and gave her a tiny kiss on her chin. She moaned in response. She moved her face and we ended up kissing on the lips. It was a wonderful and memorable afternoon. ------- Mary drove me to her house, and offered me a light beer while she changed into her outfit for the evening. I don't drink much--haven't actually in over ten years--but accepted the beer anyway. I grimaced at the initial sip, but quickly got used to the taste. Her place was immaculate, as always. It was just as I had remembered it in my dreams. About fifteen minutes later, she emerged from her bedroom. She looked absolutely gorgeous, dressed in a knee-length dress with a pastel-colored floral print. The color matched my light blue pastel shirt (I had gotten used to seeing pastels on people, it being called the "Miami Vice" look after a television show). "Wow! We make the perfect couple!" I said. She drove us to Peter's, which was on the waterfront. It was packed, with a line waiting, but Mary simply walked in and we were seated immediately. "Lovely to see you again, Mary. This must be the man you told me about. I'm Peter, and I'm your host for the evening," said the person at the welcome table. "Thank you, Peter. My name is Jim. Wait... are you THE Peter for which this place is named?" I asked. "Yes. This little place is mine," he grinned at us. He led us to a little table, which was set off from most of the other tables in the room. There were two tall and slim candles lit at the table. It was a very romantic setting. "Peter knows you," I said to Mary after Peter had left. "Yes. I worked here for a year or two as hostess." "That's probably how you got reservations, then. I thought I heard somebody in the lobby say that there was an hour wait out there." "Yes. Peter's an old friend. I had told him about you back when I was working here. When I called earlier today, I mentioned it was you that I was bringing in. He's been wanting to meet you." "Why did he want to meet me?" I asked. "Well, Peter has always seemed to like me. I mean, he's married, and it wasn't like we ever went out or anything. He knew how I'd visit you every day," Mary explained. "He seems like a very nice guy." We were making small talk. There weren't any menus at the table. I glanced around. I noticed that this was the restaurant that I had come to when I was "visiting" with Mary oh so long ago. A waiter approached our table. "Welcome to Peter's," he said. "It is my pleasure to be serving you tonight. Tonight's specialties of the house are a salmon steak, and a tuna steak. Or, you can have your choice of any other fish we have, and we'll make sure it will be the best seafood you've ever eaten, anywhere!" I opted for the salmon steak; tuna steak sounded too much like the S-o-S they served in the enlisted men's mess. As promised, the meal was excellent. ------- After the meal, Mary and I took a walk around the outside of the restaurant where they had boats docked at a pier. We were walking hand in hand, enjoying the sea air and the wonderful atmosphere. Mary looked up at the sky with a start. I followed her gaze, and noticed a crescent moon partially obscured by some wisps of cloud. The stars were out that evening, some of them twinkling behind another cloud. "I think this has been the best night of my life," I told her. Mary sighed in pleasure in response. ------- We ended up at Mary's place. Mary insisted that my place wasn't ready yet for occupancy. There were no sheets on my bed, and the place really needed to be cleaned up. I felt a bit awkward as we entered her apartment. She simply dimmed the living room light, and then twirled around back to me in a move that made her dress float out like a ballerina's. Next thing you know, she was in my arms, snuggling me and kissing my neck. I kissed her on her cheek in return. After what seemed like hours (but was only a few minutes), she twirled away again, opened the door to her room, and disappeared. I looked at her bedroom door. There wasn't any sound coming from the room. Slowly, I walked towards the door. From the dim light in the living room, I could see that she was already in bed. I wondered how she managed that so quickly. I was a bit concerned. I hadn't had any girlfriends when I was in the army, so it had been almost fifteen years since I last "performed" before a live audience. Here I was, approaching my mid-thirties (now THAT took a bit of getting used to!), and I felt like a high school student on a prom date. "Um, Mary?" I asked, quietly. "Come HERE, Jim," she said, menacingly. I looked at her, and I could see a tiny gleam in her eye in the shadows. I undressed quickly, being very careful about making sure my clothes were neat--her house was so immaculate, I didn't want to be the one to mess it up. As I was folding my socks on top of my shoes, I felt her arm grab mine from the back. "I want you here NOW!" she warned, and pulled me on top of her. I kissed her again, and she purred in my arms. I felt like I was in heaven. Slowly, my courage arose (as well as another part of my body), and I moved my face to her breast. Her breasts were just wonderful. They were large and perfectly round, with large aureole and nipples that were standing at attention. Grinning at her, I saluted her nipples in return, and began to suck on her left one. She put her hands behind my head and pulled me closer. I breathed in her aroma, which consisted of a lovely perfume, a bit of sea air, and her arousal. I pulled my head back up to hers. Her eyes were closed, but her lips were puckered in anticipation of another kiss from me. I didn't disappoint her. She reached down and found my steadfast tin soldier standing at attention. The feel of her fingers on the shaft made it strain ever harder. She quickly tapped her fingers up and down the shaft, sending little jolts of pleasure through my body. I decided to reciprocate, moving my hand down to her bush. It was downy soft. I probed a little more, and felt the entrance to her womb. I gently rubbed her outer labia, which sent shivers throughout her body. I moved my head down to her right breast, and started teasing the nipple with my tongue. As I was doing that, I pushed my finger into her pussy a bit more, and her labia opened to reveal a warm, slick opening. I felt her nubbin hiding there and started to rub it in circles, as I continued to lick her nipple. Mary was breathing heavier, and her fingers slowed down their rhythm on my cock. I moved my lips onto her nipple while still circling it with my tongue, and then started to suckle. She started moaning. Her pussy was furnishing its own lubrication and it started to get quite slick. Suddenly, Mary's hand on my cock tightened a little. She started pulling it toward her pussy. Not willing to disobey a direct order, I shifted my position, removing my hand from her clit, which elicited a bit of a disappointed sigh. However, she pointed my bayonet toward the target, and I charged forward. As I entered her, my whole body started to reverberate, as if it were in an electric shock. I pulled my tool out almost completely, and again pushed it toward her depths. Each thrust sent a shiver through her body, as well as mine. It was like no other time with any other woman. My excitement continued to grow, and I plunged into her again and again. I wasn't going to be able to last very long. I pulled her body closer to mine, jamming her breasts between us. I could feel her hot nipples making circles on my chest as we rubbed together. I was starting to pump faster now, her body seemed to be meeting mine on each thrust. I slipped my tongue into her mouth, and sucked on her. Her moans had turned into choruses of "Yes! Yes!" as our bodies continued to thrust at one another. My dick finally achieved its release, as spurts of fluid entered her womb. Miraculously, my dick didn't soften. I continued to pump after having spent my load, and she started her "Yes! Yes!" yells again. Finally, after a couple of minutes, the shouts became incoherent as her orgasm started to rock her body. I was still hard, even though I had already come. I looked at her and thought to myself, "I love you!" "I love you, too!" Mary said, sleepily. It didn't occur to me until later that I hadn't actually said anything aloud to her before she answered me. Despite the fact that I was still hard, I pulled out of her, and pushed her onto her side. We laid side by side in the spoon position, with my still-hard cock in the crack of her ass. I reached around her and pulled her back closer to me, and started to play with her nipples. I continued to play with them until I fell asleep. ------- I felt fingers on my nipples, hands cupping my breasts, and enjoyed the way that we tingled at the touch. I'd never noticed how sensitive my nipples were. I was still in the throes of my orgasm from fifteen minutes before, and I felt completely filled. I could feel my lover behind me, rubbing on my ass. I began to think that something was amiss here... something was wrong. I continued to rub my fingers on her nipples, and I enjoyed the feeling they gave me... continuous feelings of pleasure which continued to build and build, completely unlike the concentrated pleasure I felt earlier in my cock. "I'm so in love with you, Jim," I heard Mary call to me in my dream. It was about then that I realized that the fingers on my breasts that I was feeling were my own fingers on her breasts! I brought my top hand off her nipple, and moved it up toward her lips. Greedily, she opened her mouth to suck my finger in her sleep. I felt the finger in my own mouth as I did it. I was feeling Mary's feelings! Had I somehow entered her brain again? In my mind, I called out, "Mary?" A sleepy voice answered in my mind, "Yes, lover?" "You know that I love you." I said this, almost as a command. "I know that you love me, yes," she replied. "You know that you love me, don't you?" I asked. "Of course, I love you, silly!" she responded. "Just checking," I said, smiling to myself. I moved my hand back to her breast, and enjoyed the sensations that I was arousing. "Ummmmmmmmmmmm..." she said, enjoying the feeling. My movements on her breasts started to slow down, we were both entering deep sleep. "Breakfast... tomorrow?" I heard her ask me. I thought of a punchline to a very old joke. "Well, I guess a blow job is out of the question then, huh?" I asked in return, smiling to myself and falling deeply asleep. ------- After some wonderful dreams, I felt a warm sensation on my member. I thought about my surroundings. I was in Mary's bed. It was just a bit chilly, there no longer being any covers on me. I felt a pair of lips start to swallow my shaft. Her right hand started to pump my shaft as she pulled her head up and down. "Wow," she was thinking to herself. "This feels really sexy!" I was confused. I was getting a blow job, and she was feeling it as well? I was afraid to open my eyes to look at her, remembering that whenever she awoke, it would break the connection that we had between one another. I wanted to look at her... and see what was happening. I remembered how I used to "go outside" my body, and in thinking of it, I found myself outside my body, watching me getting head from Mary, who looked like a naked goddess. As soon as I left my body, I lost all the sensation of the oral sex. Still, I was fascinated by her nakedness. I mentally asked her to move her body so I could enjoy the way she looked, and she did so, pulling her longish hair on one side of her face so I could get a better look. Mary looked a little disappointed; I was apparently getting soft. I tried to wonder what was happening, and then I remembered that my mind wasn't there, and therefore I wasn't getting the benefit of the blow job! I quickly returned to my body, and found I was again sharing the experience with Mary with our minds somehow intertwined. I quickly started to get harder. As she (we) felt the reaction to the blow job, she started modifying her technique slightly. The more of the shaft that she was able to get into her mouth, she realized, the better the feeling was. She couldn't figure out a way to get more than a couple of inches into her mouth. Her mind tried to work out the problem, and she continued trying slight modifications to her efforts. "Ooh, that feels nice," she thought. "Gotta do more of that!" I "watched," fascinated by experiencing Mary's thoughts at the same time I was enjoying the feelings she was eliciting in my loins. I knew that I wasn't going to last much longer, and, reading my mind, Mary started to suck deeply. I let loose in her mouth, and I could feel the sticky warmth hit the roof of her mouth, and quickly get swallowed as the next load was ready to spend. The combination of feeling my orgasm, and Mary's reaction to my semen hitting her mouth excited me all the more, and load after load continued to unleash into Mary's waiting mouth. I finally finished spasming, and she continued to suck me, trying to get all the cum out of my member. Mary hugged me in the warm afterglow, and we both fell back asleep. I woke up just a little while later, and saw Mary grinning contentedly in her sleep. We had just experienced a mutual orgasm, but one that was much different than any mutual orgasm that I had ever heard described before. Instead of the two of us reaching our own orgasm at the same time, it was obvious that Mary had actually experienced my own orgasm. It was confusing to me, but Mary just seemed to accept it. All the mental activity that I was experiencing was completely incredible, and totally unlike anything that I ever heard described before. I had heard of things like E.S.P., and although I am no expert on the topic, I still had never heard of anything that described what I had just experienced. I idly wondered how Mary felt about this happening. I didn't for a second think that Mary didn't know that we had shared our feelings this morning. Once again, I looked at her sleeping. She looked like a lovely angel lying there with a smile on her face. I wondered where things would go from here... ------- Chapter 4 "Strangers in the night, exchanging glances..." I was on disability, so the military was no longer an option. This was disappointing for me, since President Reagan had started pumping a lot of money into the Department of Defense. "President" Reagan, I thought to myself, shaking my head. I remember him being governor of California when I was younger, and I sighed, thinking about the years that I had missed. Since I hadn't gone to college, I didn't have any degrees to qualify me for most white collar jobs. I wasn't averse to sweating for a living, but my body was still out of shape, having done very little exercise in the last dozen years except my PT training sessions at the hospital. I might be able to go to school on the GI bill, but being in my mid-thirties (again, this was hard for me to accept!), I felt that I'd be out of place. Besides, I had already rejected college before and wasn't really in the mood to give it a try now. I did have the stipend from the government and a hefty savings account, which did give me the ability to just spend as I wished, but that ran counter to my desires to be productive and not a drain on society. My parents had passed away while I was in my coma. The last that I had remembered of them was the disappointment in my father when I enlisted in the service. He had been in the marines, and couldn't understand my entering the army. I didn't know if they ever visited me in the hospital, but if they had, they had probably met Mary. I do know that before the accident that took their life, I was supposed to be the executor of their will. Instead, they apparently added language to their will that named their lawyer as executor in the event that I was incapacitated. This lawyer basically liquidated their assets, took a small cut for his services, and put the rest into a trust fund that was managed by a financial services firm for me. I didn't exactly know the current extent of the fund, but it must have been a lot, since during my big sleep, interest rates had been skyrocketing. Then there was Mary. She had really impressed me; she seemed devoted to me. She also didn't think that I was nuts due to the weird dreams. That always counted for something. ------- The day after our first night together, Mary had taken her car to work, but she had left me some bus schedules for mass transit near where she lived, along with the admonition that I would need exact change (What? Bus drivers don't have that change-making device on their belts any more? Was I turning into Rip Van Winkle?). I filled my pockets with a few dollars of loose change, idly checking the dates on the money to see how many had been minted since my sojourn in the hospital (more than I would have liked to have seen, actually). I had a rough idea of the layout of the town, and I was going to meet Mary at a mall near the bank where she worked. The trip to the mall wasn't too eventful. Kids had changed quite a lot in the time that I had been away. Long hair wasn't "in" any more (thank goodness!), and teenage girls seem to be alright wearing pretty slutty outfits that I had to admit that I would have liked to see on girls when I had been in high school. In any event, the kids tended to leave me alone. I wandered the mall, doing a lot of window shopping. Clothing styles had changed quite a bit, and I wasn't very keen on the new styles yet--at least for the males. There were more fast food places than I had remembered, and I was amazed about how much they had started to specialize. Imagine going to a shop that only sells French Fries! (Yes, my curiosity got the better of me, and tried them. They weren't anything to write home about.) About an hour before I was scheduled to meet Mary, something very disturbing happened. I had a jarring sense of hollowness that I had felt previously when my out of body "presence" had been penetrated by a living person. The feeling was so startling that I dropped my fries, stopped walking immediately, and looked around me. There was nobody near me... and I was starting to question whether I was really at the mall at all... or having another of my out of body dreams. I dismissed it being entirely a dream quickly. I had, in fact, interacted with other people. That was something I never was able to do (except with Mary during her dreams). That feeling was so identical to that feeling from when I was comatose, that I had an eerie sense of deja-vu. I picked up my fries and found a litter container for them. I sat down, and tried to figure out what that feeling meant. Obviously, there wasn't anything physical that had gone through me. There wasn't anybody around at the time. Could I be detecting somebody else "dream walking" in the mall? Would that be too far fetched? I was then reminded about one of the first times that I had ever ventured outside my body, when I was in the base hospital. It was the time that I first looked at a newspaper, and I felt an invisible presence (and even heard it say "Sorry, guy!"). I had mostly forgotten about that strange incident, but something inside me told me that this sensation that I had felt had something to do with that experience. I started to think about the situation. First, when I was comatose, I was able to walk outside my own body. Second, when I was outside my own body, I was able to "invade" Mary's dreams, and even re-shape them, using it as a way of communicating with her. Third, when Mary and I slept together the previous night, we seemed to have shared our dreams, although Mary never specifically mentioned it this morning. In fact, we even went so far as to experience each others feelings during sex this morning. Mary hadn't mentioned that either, though. Now, I had just felt a disquieting presence in the mall that was very similar to a presence I felt one time at the base hospital when I was in a coma. What did these add up to? I wasn't sure. I was sitting down, lost in my thoughts, when I "heard" somebody think "Life is grand, isn't it?" I knew that thought-voice. It was Mary's! I looked up and around, and finally saw her about 200 meters away from me. I got up and walked toward her. When she saw me, she rushed toward me and gave me a big hug. I had to agree with her. Life was indeed grand. ------- We ate lunch at the food court in the mall. I picked out a couple of familiar burgers at McDonald's, and Mary went to some place with a salad bar. "I wish to thank you for the wonderful wake-up gift this morning," I told Mary, with just a hint of wickedness, talking in a crowded mall. "What do you mean?" she asked. At first, I figured that she was just shy, but her face showed a definite questioning look. "The way... the way you woke me up this morning!" "Oh, Jim! I'm so sorry. I tried not to make noise while I was making you breakfast..." "No. I mean... before that..." I studied her face. She seemed genuinely confused. "If I woke you up this morning, it was probably because I'm... I'm not used to sharing my bed..." What was she talking about? She performed oral sex on me, and she didn't remember it? I slowly exhaled my breath. Was I really dreaming of that encounter? Strange. I never had any erotic dreams while I was in my coma, or if I did, I didn't remember any of them. Mary changed the subject. "Anyway, Jim. How do you like the mass transit system in our little city? Much different than you remember, isn't it?" I nodded absently, and Mary looked at me, concerned. After a pause of a few minutes, Mary asked me, softly. "Is there anything wrong, Jim? Is this too much activity too soon? Do you want me to call Doctor..." "No! No! Don't call any doctor. I was just a bit... disoriented." I decided to explain about my "Rip Van Winkle" feelings. "It's just that there's so much for me to absorb. For example, did you know that a Big Mac costs more than a dollar now? I used to be able to get one of those with fries and a coke for that much money!" Mary looked at me, still concerned, but then her features crinkled up into a smile that must have lit up the entire mall. "Oh, Jim! You are just so strange!" She leaned toward me and kissed me. I not only let her, but I actively participated in return. "You want to know what else is strange? I went into a toy store, thinking that I'd get you a GI Joe doll--something for you to think of me by. I couldn't find too many. Instead, they had all these Return of the Jetty things, which are the weirdest things I've ever seen..." "Wow. That's right. You've never seen Star Wars, have you?" I admitted never hearing that term before, except on the news regarding some policy of the president's. "It was a movie. The last episode was a couple of years ago. It's 'Jedi, ' by the way. Not 'jetty.'" "Whatever. Kids movie, I guess." "Lots of adults like it, too," she told me. We talked on and on about things that have changed. After a bit, I noticed that we had both finished eating, but we were still talking in the food court. A glance at my watch told me that we'd been talking for a couple of hours. "Mary. What do you do at your bank where you can take a two hour lunch break? Do you rob it?" I was rewarded with another of her golden smiles, and her cheeks even dimpled. "No, silly. My boss understands about my needing some time off. I have two weeks vacation time, and he said I could even take sick time, if I needed it." "Must be a very understanding boss." She seemed to have a great job, actually. "So, what's your plans for this afternoon, then?" I asked her. Her smile turned into a wicked grin. "How about a rematch of last night's performance?" I looked at her, pretending to be shocked. "You mean, here?" Mary gave me a grin. "If you insist, but I think we'd shock the others. Would you mind waiting until we get back?" "Of course!" I agreed. ------- Mary took me back home to her place, and as soon as she got inside, she started to disrobe immediately. "Come ON!" she said, nearly screaming. It was obvious that she was hot for me. She pulled me into her bedroom, and by the time we reached the bed, she was completely naked. I hadn't even slipped off my shoes yet. As I struggled to remove my pants, Mary came over and kissed me, passionately. Normally, I don't have problems working the button or the zipper, but for some reason, my fingers weren't cooperating. My body had simply decided to feel the desire that she was creating inside me. I gave up trying to take off my pants, and as soon as my hand went down, one of Mary's took its place, and unfastened my pants expertly. Before long, she had me completely undressed, having sacrificed one or two of the buttons of my shirt in her haste. Mary pulled me on top of her as she collapsed onto the bed, still kissing me passionately. I finally figured out how to work my fingers, and started playing with her breasts. I was rewarded with her pulling me even tighter toward her. My left hand was near Mary's thigh, and I felt around and found that her legs were spread wide. My finger touched her pussy, and I found it was extremely slippery. Mary was more excited than I ever remember experiencing with a woman. She wasn't alone in her excitement. My cock was hard enough to tamp a 60 millimeter cartridge. I positioned myself over her crotch, and she took her hand off my back onto my ass, and pulled me quickly toward her. At first, my cock's aim was a little off, but with a bit of a wiggle from Mary, it found its way in, and she thrust her hips upward and I found myself almost completely engulfed in the warmth of her vulva. My eyes were closed, and I started a steady pumping action. I was greeted with the sensation of a cock going in and out of my own pussy. I had connected with her again! Feeling the heat inside her crotch, I altered my rhythm, slowing down, since the sensation seemed to be more pronounced that way. This elicited an excited squeal from Mary (and almost from me!). For a few minutes, I got lost in the sensations, feeling my cock going in and out of her pussy, and feeling her reactions to it. It was weird, experiencing them at the same time from both my cock and her pussy. I felt that I was building up to a great crescendo, something that seemed to me to be just out of reach. The sensations were orders of magnitude more than I had ever experienced before. I tried to focus on specifics of the feeling. There was a very sensitive part, for instance, that making a tiny adjustment in my thrusts gave a fantastic result... and I thought that I would lose my mind with the intensity of the feelings. This was no normal fuck for me. I had reached a new level, and I felt a wave of extra strong sensations pass through our bodies. It was like I had reached orgasm, except that it lasted more than just a few seconds. In fact, even as it started, I could feel my cock erupting into Mary; I could feel the semen start to flood her cavity. I realized that I was feeling myself come from Mary's perspective. The orgasm just grew more and more intense. In fact, it felt like it went on for minutes. My cock continued to pulse as I continued to thrust. Instead of ending, it still continued! Finally, I felt the wave of orgasm start to subside, and my cock finally stopped erupting. This was the longest orgasm that I had ever had so far in my life. Since it still felt wonderful to feel my cock going in an out of her pussy, I continued to pump, albeit a lot slower. I still made sure that I made the shaft touch that magic spot. I noticed that the orgasm wasn't fading, but it was starting to grow again. Within seconds of the longest orgasm that I had ever experienced, I felt another one start. It didn't seem as strong as the first, and it wasn't felt in my cock. This was being felt by that magic spot in Mary's pussy. The feeling continued to grow. I continued to pump, giving the sensitive spot as much stimulation from my cock as I could possibly give it. The feeling swept over us like a tide, bringing us back to the crest of the wave that we had ridden before, and then, unbelievably, reaching even higher... more intense. I could feel my cock pulsing again. Could I possibly have that much sperm in my body? I couldn't tell if semen was filling her vaginal cavity; but her sensitive spot... what I figured was her clitoris... was bringing her much more intense feelings than even before. The sensations would fall back, but never back to zero. It would come again, and again, reaching for the peaks. I didn't know how long I was fucking her. It felt like hours. I couldn't believe that anybody could feel such intense excitement and still survive. We shared four orgasms together. Each time, I could feel my cock pumping, but the sensation quickly drowned out by the intense orgasms that Mary was experiencing. As the fourth orgasm started to fade--I felt that the top of Mary's crotch was getting raw from all the friction. I felt that my own cock was getting sore as well. I slowly pulled out, not wanting to hurt either of us. I looked down at Mary, and her eyes were closed. Not clenched shut, but closed, as if she were sleeping. I kissed her on the cheek, and she didn't respond. She was still breathing, but her breaths were even. What a stud you are, Jim. You fucked her unconscious! ------- I really had to pee, so I gently moved off of Mary, and then got off the bed. I looked at Mary, and noticed that the bed spread was soaked all around Mary, a large circle that reached up to her head. There was light gray semen oozing out of her pussy, which fascinated me; I'd never seen my semen on another person before. At the very least, we would have to change the sheets, and probably the blankets as well. I hoped Mary had some to spare. I walked out of the room, and went into the bathroom. Surprisingly, I was still rock hard. This was never the state I was in after a great screw. It also made relieving myself a bit difficult, but I managed, after a bit. I walked back into the room, and saw Mary still sleeping, her breasts heaving up and down slowly with each breath. The living room was much brighter, so I decided to go there. On the way, I realized that I was still naked. Not wanting to go back into the bedroom and wake Mary up, I decided to leave my clothes in the bedroom. I walked over to Mary's easy chair, and found a Newsweek magazine on the table next to it. I had taken to reading Newsweek and Time magazines in the hospital as a way to help me catch up on current events. Since Mary had the latest issue, I curled up and started reading the cover story. I fell asleep almost immediately. ------- I was in a porno film. At least, it seemed that way to me. It was a hotel room, the smell of stale smoke permeated the air. A guy wearing too much Aqua Velvet was on top of me, pumping his cock in and out of me. It occurred to me that the star of this dream wasn't me. I was, in fact, Mary. I felt the intense orgasmic feelings that I felt before, only they weren't accompanied with the soreness that had typified the last orgasm that I shared with Mary. The orgasm that Mary was feeling wasn't as intense as the ones that I shared with her just a few minutes earlier, but it was still the female style of orgasm that I was feeling. Not the "Wham! Bam! Thank you, Ma'am!" style blast that I had experienced as a guy, before I started sharing Mary's internal feelings. Unlike the orgasms that we shared together, Mary's was vocal. I heard her scream "Fuck me!" as the guy she was with pulled out (FRUSTRATING!) and spewed his load all over her stomach and breasts. "YES!" Mary shouted. I jumped up in reaction to Mary's shout, and found myself hovering over Mary and her mysterious boyfriend. "YES!" she shouted again. Get me out of here, I thought to myself. This is disgusting. I left. ------- I was somewhere else. Somewhere I had never been before. This much was clear to me. I was in an apartment, just like Mary's, but the furniture was all wrong. The bedroom door was open, and I saw the back of a naked woman, facing the wall away from me. Her left leg was up in the air, and I could see her fingers working furiously between her thighs as she was masturbating herself. I blinked, and I was no longer there. I was looking at the wall now. My left hand was rubbing my clitoris, bringing me just outside the edge of an orgasm. The middle finger of my other hand was plunged into the depths of my cunt. I was the masturbating girl. This wasn't Mary. Mary felt... much different. I could feel the frustration of the woman in the bed. She had brought herself to four wonderful orgasms, and she wanted another one. She couldn't do it. I smiled to myself; I knew what it was like to have experienced four mind-smashing orgasms. I need a thick, hard cock, the woman was thinking. I'd do anything for a guy to put it into me like those previous orgasms. I knew that I was sharing this woman's dream. So, who was she? Where were we? How did this happen? As if to answer me, I saw in her mind that her name was Debbie. She was in the apartment just above Mary's. She must have tapped into Mary's and my fuck... she wanted more! I figured that discretion was the better part of valor, and decided to leave the woman. As my presence went to leave, apparently Debbie started to feel more frantic. I felt her get out of bed as I left her. ------- A few minutes later, I felt something touch my dick. Without opening my eyes, I could tell it wasn't Mary this time, but it was the woman from the upstairs room. How had she gotten into Mary's apartment? Didn't we lock the door? I felt another touch on my dick, and in my minds' eye, I could "see" Debbie, kneeling before me, touching the tip of my cock with her tongue. "No!" I said within my mind. Why was Debbie here? Mary was in her bedroom, asleep. I loved her very much and a day after we first made love, I have a strange woman blowing me! "No!" I said in my mind. "I don't want this." Debbie's lips left my organ. Why was Debbie here? Mary was in her bedroom, asleep. What if she heard us? I didn't even really want Debbie here! I held my breath, and counted to ten. As I did so, I felt lips surrounding my cock again. I opened my eyes. To my relief, I realized that it wasn't Debbie. It was Mary, sucking me. I figured that I had been groggy with lack of sleep and dreamt about Debbie, and my mind was getting confused with in a half-dream, half-reality. "That feels nice," I murmured, partly to myself. "Ssh," came a voice. "O.K." I said, and closed my eyes. Then I did a double take. How could Mary shush me with my penis inside her mouth? Mary's head moved off my penis, and started licking the shaft. I felt another sensation on the other side, apparently her fingers. I opened my eyes again, and looked down in shock. It wasn't just Mary licking me. Debbie was on the opposite side, licking me as well! The sudden shock hit me by surprise, caused my cock to jump, and it then spewed semen up between the two girls. Debbie immediately moved into the line of fire, and my spunk hit her face in the eye, dripping down her cheek. This wasn't the long drawn-out orgasm that I had earlier experienced with Mary. This was a quick, one-shot affair. Mary watched Debbie take the shot of semen on her face, and then, without a word, moved toward Debbie, and started licking it off her face. What was going on? Debbie smiled as Mary was licking her, and she turned her face toward Mary. Soon, Mary's cum-covered tongue was licking Debbie's tongue, and I watched, unbelieving, as the two girls French kissed. I noticed that both girls were naked. They were kissing like long lost lovers, and for a moment, I felt a little jealous of Debbie. Mary was the one I loved, and she was kissing Debbie! I knew that I had to say something. "Um..." I started. Good start! Debbie broke off the kiss, and turned back to me. "Ssh," she admonished. Mary turned to me, smiling. "We're here... your slaves. Ready to do your bidding!" "What the fuck... ?" If I had been dreaming, I knew for a fact that I was fully awake now. Debbie and Mary were both kneeling together in front of me. Naked as the day they were born, smiling at me. ------- Chapter 5 "I'd do anything to get you into my world..." I must make an admission right here. Having two gorgeous women, naked and kneeling at your feet, telling you that they are your slaves is one hell of a mind blast. Don't let anybody tell you any different. So, how does one actually deal with such an event? I looked at the two lovely ladies, and they were looking up at me expectantly. I ended up asking probably the stupidest question you could think of. "What do you mean, 'slaves?'" Mary looked up at me. "That's not the right word, but the closest I can think of. There's something..." She paused, thinking of the right word. "Something... magical about you. Debbie and I both feel it." I looked at Debbie, and she was nodding her head vigorously. I shook my head. "Up until tonight, neither of us had ever met Debbie before!" It was Mary's turn to shake her head. "Not true. She owns this apartment building. I've seen her a few times over the week or so." Debbie was still nodding her head in agreement. "So, do the two of you do this sort of thing often?" I asked. Debbie giggled. Mary looked at me seriously. "Never, Jim. In fact, until I woke up, I never considered sharing any guy with any girl." "Me, neither," Debbie added. I sighed. My dick was getting hard again. It was like I was a teenager again. Debbie noticed, and started flicking at it with her tongue. "Stop that, Debbie!" I said. "Can you answer me a question," Debbie asked. "You mean, why am I refusing your services?" "No," Debbie answered. "How do you know my name?" "I... um... well..." "You see?" Debbie asked. "That's how I know that you're our... Master. I mean..." Debbie looked at Mary for help. "Do you know how we connected last night, Jim?" Mary asked. "I'm still having trouble with that," I admitted. "Debbie seems to have tuned into us," Mary explained. "It's through you that we met. It's like we're sisters with a common father, except the sex angle is weird. Maybe two slaves with one master, but that's not quite right, either." This was too much for me to understand. "You don't mind that the three of us are naked?" I asked Mary. Mary shook her head. "I've never shared my man before, and never even considered it before. I felt Debbie come in, and I immediately felt some sort of kinship with her, even though she was having oral sex with you. Everything changed at that minute." "I need some time to think things through," I said. Both girls got up together, silently, and without any protest. They walked out of the living room into the bathroom. A few seconds later, I heard the water start. About thirty seconds after that, I heard some squeals coming from the bathroom, and I could tell that they were bathing together. I sighed. I thought back to that dream of mine. I know for a fact that I was dreaming when I first saw Debbie. How did she get into Mary's apartment? I looked around, and didn't see any of her clothes--or Mary's, for that matter--on the floor. Did she walk downstairs naked? How did I know that she lived upstairs, anyway? Nobody had told me that, but I knew it. What does all this mean, anyway? The girls had left the bathroom door open. I wondered if they wanted me to join in. They probably did, but I decided that it might not be a good idea. I had found that Mary was quite insatiable last night--four orgasms (and I came during every one--which was even more unbelievable). I now had a second female to deal with... it seemed inhuman. Moans from the bathroom interrupted my thoughts, and it was quite apparent that they were getting it on in there. I'd never seen two girls going at it before, except when Debbie and Mary were sharing my cock. My curiosity got the better of me, and I tiptoed into the bathroom. There was steam coming out of the shower stall, and I could barely make out a body from behind the translucent curtain. There was darkness at the bottom, and it dawned on me that one girl was squatting down in front of the other. I quietly moved the shower curtain so that I could peek in. Debbie had her face to Mary's crotch. Mary's eyes were closed, and her lips had a smile on them that made it clear she was enjoying Debbie's attentions. My guess was that Debbie was bisexual, and was teaching Mary the ropes. My boner wanted me to join the action, but my other brain decided to leave quietly. I did, silently closing the bathroom door behind me. I realized my mistake almost immediately. Now, I not only had a boner so hard that it hurt, but I also had to piss something awful. I had closed the door, so getting into the bathroom again wasn't going to be as quiet as the last time. Debating what to do, I heard a girl's voice cry out in pleasure. To my surprise, it wasn't Mary's voice, but Debbie's. Did they trade places? I needed to get dressed. Walking around the apartment naked with two nude females wasn't going to allow me to figure things out. I went into Mary's bedroom, and looked for my clothes from the previous evening. After a few minutes, I was dressed. I decided to go without my boxers, since the ones from last night were dirty. When I left the bedroom, I saw Mary and Debbie sitting on Mary's sofa, both girls wearing towels around their heads--and nothing else. "Debbie, where are your clothes?" I asked. She shrugged. "Upstairs." Figures. I tried to figure out if the two girls were the same size. They looked about the same, with Mary a bit older and maybe a few pounds on Debbie. Mary's hips were a bit broader than Debbie's. "Can you find something to put on here?" I asked. She looked at Mary and then sighed. "I guess..." she pouted. "You too, Mary. Get dressed, and let's all have some breakfast." The two girls quickly got up and went into Mary's bedroom. I expected them to start going at each other on Mary's bed, but I didn't hear any such activity going on. After about ten minutes, they both emerged. Debbie wearing a pair of jeans that would have been skin tight on Mary, but seemed to fit Debbie just wonderfully. Mary was wearing jeans that were tighter on her. Both girls decided to wear tube tops; Debbie's was pulled so low that I could almost see the tips of her nipples peeking out. When they saw me, they smiled. Mary asked me if I wanted breakfast. Debbie looked me in the eyes and announced that she was hungry for a sausage, and then looked down at my crotch pointedly in order to make it clear what kind of a sausage she was considering. "Um... how about some actual food?" I asked. "Fine. What will you guys have?" asked Mary. Mary got our breakfast orders, and disappeared into the kitchen. Debbie asked Mary if she could borrow her phone, and Mary said fine. Debbie looked at me, and told me she would call her assistant and tell her that she was going to be staying in today. I didn't see any problem with that. Debbie made a call. I only heard half the conversation, of course, but it sounded like the person she called was named "Amy." Debbie's call wasn't that long, and about fifteen minutes after she hung up the phone, Mary came back in from the kitchen with a tray holding three bagels and three steaming cups of coffee. After that marathon lovemaking session last night, I needed the caffeine in my system. I drank mine black. When I bit into the bagel, I was in for a big surprise. They were... GOOD! ------- I need to digress from my story here. I promise to keep it short. When I was first stationed in the service, I had a friend nicknamed "Brooklyn" (due to his accent, of course). He once took me on a train ride to his home, and when he arrived there, the first thing he did was take me into a bagel shop. "What's this?" I asked Brooklyn. "A bagel shop. Don't they have any where you live?" he asked. I told him that I was from the other coast. All I knew about bagels were that they were things you got from your freezer. "Frozen bagels? You got to be shittin' me!" he cried. The shop we went into smelled like a bakery back home, with a big difference. There were other smells that I had never associated with a bakery before... onion... and even garlic! Brooklyn went straight to the counter and yelled to the lady behind the counter, "Martha? Your ol' man still got you workin' in this piece of shit?" Martha looked at Brooklyn, and burst out with the biggest smile that I'd ever seen. "Anthony!" she shouted. "You're back from the war!" "Ain't-a gonna study war no more!" he sang gleefully. He pointed to me and said, "This here's Jim and we're gonna be here for a few days." Martha was walking around the counter to get closer to Brooklyn. I hadn't been ready for the family reunion that was happening. She made it to Brooklyn, and then hugged him so tight to her bosom that I thought he would suffocate. "Watch it, Martha," he yelled, although his voice was muffled by her large body. "I don't need no nursin'!" Martha held the hug for a few seconds more, and then seemed to notice me. She released Brooklyn, and took a couple of steps in my direction. Instinctively, I stepped back, and found myself against the closed door to the shop. "Welcome, Jimmy. Any friend of Anthony is a friend of mine!" she said as she drew me into a hug. ------- The reason I digressed into that flashback is because I experienced my own flashback as I bit into that bagel. That bagel Mary had prepared had brought to mind that image of that time in Brooklyn where I had my first "real" bagel. Warm, doughy, and dripping with butter on the inside slice. Sliced twice... not toasted. A real, honest to goodness bagel. "This bagel is... wonderful!" I gushed, immediately taking another bite. "Are freezer bagels this good nowadays?" Mary looked at Debbie, and shook her head no. "No. I was going to make some English muffins for breakfast when there was a knock at the kitchen door. An Asian girl had a bag with a half dozen onion bagels and told me that Debbie had told her to deliver them." I looked at Debbie in confusion. "Delivery? From where? Brooklyn?" Debbie grinned at me. "Not Brooklyn. There's a bagel shop just around the corner..." "Wait a minute!" I interrupted her. "A bagel shop... ? In California?" "Of course," she said, wondering what I was confused about. "There have been bagel shops here for years." "Years?" I asked, not believing. I could still remember thinking about how somebody could make a fortune by opening a chain of bagel shops on the west coast back when I was stationed in New York. Mary had a worried look on her face, and it hit me all of a sudden why I was confused. I had been in a coma for a dozen or so years! An uneasy silence descended in the living room, as this all hit me. Debbie looked at me, and then Mary, trying to figure out what was going on. Mary caught Debbie's confusion, and called my name, softly. "Jim?" I looked up at Mary. "Uh... yeah?" "Do you think I should explain to Debbie about how..." she paused, trying to think of the right word. "How we... met?" I suddenly got an image of myself as Rip Van Winkle, and started to giggle. This eased the tension considerably, and Mary started to giggle. After a couple of seconds, even Debbie was giggling. "Um..." said Debbie, in between giggles. "Why are we... (giggle)... laughing?" "Tell her," I instructed Mary. Mary proceeded to tell the story of my accident to Debbie. I listened, fascinated, since this was one of the first times that I had ever heard Mary describe it from her point of view. When Debbie had heard that I had been in a coma for years, her eyes opened wide. Then, as Mary explained about visiting daily at the hospital, Debbie's eyes took on a more maternal look when she looked at me. Mary explained how we met in her dreams, which Debbie understood right away, since I guess that is how I met Debbie, herself. I finished that wonderful bagel, and ate the bacon from my plate as Mary brought Debbie up to date. I found myself helping Mary (OK. I was interrupting her. Big deal!) when she started describing the stuff that had happened more recently. When Mary and I were done with the story, Debbie looked from me to Mary and just shook her head. "You know, that's about the most romantic thing I've ever heard. It was a match made in the heavens, like you said, Mary!" We smiled, and then looked at each other. I then looked at Debbie, wondering if there was any jealousy over my feelings for Mary. I didn't see any... just love. Weird. Something had been nagging at me while Mary had been telling her story. I thought hard, and it came to me. "Mary, you said that the Asian girl brought SIX bagels?" Mary looked at me and laughed. She was about to go back into the kitchen when Debbie corrected me. "That would be Aimee, my assistant. She's not Asian, she's Polynesian." "Oh, I'm sorry," Mary said. "Not a problem, Aimee say that it's a common mistake." "I'll remember that," I said. Mary left into the kitchen and came back with another bagel, still warm, and like the first one, it was also dripping with butter. This was MY idea of heaven, anyway. ------- Breakfast was long gone, and we were just lounging in the living room, making small talk. It suddenly occurred that I didn't know anything about Debbie... except that she was Mary's landlady. "So, Debbie. You've heard the story of Mary and me. How did you become the landlady here?" I asked. "I'm not the landlady," Debbie replied, simply. "I own the building." "You own the building?" I repeated. "Actually, most of the whole block. That's how I knew that Goldstein's Bagels were downstairs," she explained. There was a bagel shop downstairs and I never knew it? Mary caught my reaction, and figured out what I was thinking and giggled. "So. What's your story? How did you end up owning a building?" I asked. ------- Yes. It's time for another digression. Debbie's mother died when Debbie was about fifteen. Her father was devastated by her mother's death, and afterward, put all his effort into his work. Debbie had seen very little of her father before, and she now saw even less of him after the death of her mother. He had worked for the government before, and now had an agency on Wall Street, always going after bigger and bigger deals. He was a successful broker, and had his own firm. All Debbie knew was that he was making money hand over fist, and the more money he had, the more that his job demanded of his time. After graduating from the private school Debbie attended after the death of her mother, Debbie got a scholarship to a couple of colleges, and her father wanted her to go to an ivy league school. He had hoped that she'd get her MBA and join him in his business. Debbie, on the other hand, saw what his blind pursuit of money had gotten him... loneliness. She didn't want that. Instead, Debbie took one of her scholarships and went to a lovely little private school on the west coast. She majored in liberal arts. "So I could learn how to enjoy life," she explained. She did very well in college, becoming the class valedictorian. Her father was proud. So proud, in fact, that he was going to fly out to the west coast on a special trip to see her commencement address. Unfortunately, the flight he was on never made it to California. There was a malfunction in the plane, and the crew tried to make an emergency landing. They were unsuccessful, and her father was among those that perished on that flight. The airline offered to fly Debbie out to the place where her father died. She had been prepared to accept when she got a call from "Uncle Chuck," her father's best friend and business partner. He told Debbie to take a different flight and meet him in New York, instead. She decided to take Chuck's advice, and there was a first class ticket for her waiting for her flight to JFK. When she arrived, Chuck met her at the gate and gave her a big hug. He took her to the firm's main office in Manhattan, and explained that they knew that Debbie had undergone a great loss. They also explained to Debbie that her father was quite a rich man... extremely rich. Debbie and Uncle Chuck went together to the Midwest to identify and claim her father's body. Since neither her father nor Debbie were particularly religious, she had his remains cremated. It was a few days before the will was read, and Debbie found herself the beneficiary of just less than eight hundred million dollars. She also found out that there was a couple of bank accounts that her father had in her name, totaling millions more. She also held stocks in her father's firm and other companies as well, which she decided to have Uncle Chuck proxy for her. All told, Debbie had liquid assets of more than two hundred million dollars, and close to four times more than that in other assets. Her father also had some properties all over the country, which she inherited. The brokerage was relieved that Debbie wasn't going to liquidate all her father's assets. In actuality, Debbie didn't have the heart to truly disband the company that her father had spent his whole life building. Besides, she could use the brokerage to manage her assets. Debbie allowed Chuck to run his own company, Penet Holdings, with Malen Associates' clientele, and left the original company as a holding company for her newly acquired assets. Charles Penet would manage Malen Associates for her. Chuck and Debbie selected a portfolio of stocks and other investments, some high risk and high yield, some low risk with small but steady growth. Chuck said that her portfolio was much more conservative than her father's had been, but then, she already had her first million when she started! Debbie also met her father's personal assistant, a young Polynesian woman named Aimee who was about the same age as Debbie. Chuck had told her that Aimee had been working for her father for a few years, but she was extremely bright and with people. Aimee and Debbie got along right off the bat, and Debbie offered to have Aimee continue working for her if she wanted to. Aimee agreed and became her personal assistant. If Chuck had been the one to see to Debbie's financial future, it was Aimee that had taken Debbie from a recent college graduate and new orphan and taught her the ropes of the world of high finance. At Aimee's advice, she hired two more staff. The first was a driver named June. Aimee explained that when you are worth millions of dollars, it is not an extravagance to have a chauffeur but a necessity. If Debbie were to drive and get into an accident, lawyers could make her pay every last cent that she owned. Her chauffeur June loved driving, and even had a pilot's license. Debbie hired her next staff member after Uncle Chuck had explained that among her father's "miscellaneous" assets was a converted 737 jet. The jet was in a private air strip at a recently closed Air Force Base. When Aimee, June, and Debbie went to take a look at it, they met a Filipino lady named Mely who worked at the air strip. It turned out that although June had a pilot's license, she had no certification on a jumbo jet. Mely, however, did. Aimee and June left Debbie at the air strip while Mely gave Debbie a tour of Debbie's new acquisition. When Aimee and June came back, an hour later, Aimee simply handed a sheaf of papers to Debbie. Debbie glanced at the sheaf of papers, and then found Aimee's one-page handwritten summary. She turned to Mely and offered her a raise of twice her current salary if she'd hire on as Debbie's personal pilot. Mely ecstatically agreed. The four ladies decided to go on a tour of her father's properties throughout the United States, followed by a trip around the world to his other properties. They were still in the USA part of the trip, examining the property that was the block where Mary's apartment was located. Debbie had given June and Mely a few weeks off to explore Southern California, and Aimee would stay in San Diego with Debbie, accompanying Debbie, although staying at a hotel, since the apartment complex that she owned only had a one bedroom apartment available. In addition, Aimee would also act as her driver, if necessary. ------- "Aimee was the one that got the bagels this morning?" Mary asked. "Yes. Aimee has a weird... almost psychic... quality to her," Debbie explained. "When I called her, you see, she knew that I was not in my room. I asked her to get us some bagels, and she mentioned that Goldstein's was just downstairs." This Aimee sounded like an interesting person. The three of us were startled when we heard a knock at the front door. Mary got up and answered it. A small but lovely lady was on the other side. "You must be Aimee," Mary said. "I'm happy to meet you again." "How do you do?" Aimee asked. "Won't you come in?" Mary asked. Aimee gave her a big smile, and whispered something to Mary as she entered the room. Mary looked at her, confused. I got up as Aimee entered, and extended my hand. "Hello," I said. "Hello," she replied, giving me a warm smile. Her hair was dark, and framed her face beautifully, held on each side of her face with a barrette made from tiny pearls at eye level, accentuating her warm brown eyes. Her teeth were whiter than the pearls, and provided a great contrast to her red lips. She was wearing a yellow mini skirt, which showed off her long, shapely legs. Her blouse was a white lace with white and yellow flower pattern that massed to provide the necessary opaqueness at the important points. In short, she was gorgeous. I knew that I was staring at her, but I saw that she was staring at me, as well. She shook my hand, bringing me out of my reverie. She then turned her attention to Debbie. "Hi, boss!" Debbie smiled at her assistant. "I guess you already know everything there is to know about Jim and Mary here." Aimee simply nodded and said, cryptically, "They are good people." Debbie nodded. "That's what she said to me," Mary said. "What do you mean by that, Aimee?" Debbie answered, "That's about the nicest thing she can say about somebody." Aimee nodded. "I'm glad I passed some sort of test," I said, a bit put off. "Mr. Montgomery..." Aimee started. I held up my hand. "Jim, please." "Jim... I am paid to look out for Debbie, and to advise her. You didn't pass any test. I can see just by looking at you..." She paused, looking to Debbie for help. Debbie sighed. "Jim, Mary. I told you that Aimee has a gift of insight into other people. If she says you are good people, she means it. She just knows it." I just shrugged, still put off by this exotic creature. Aimee was staring at me, her brown eyes piercing into my being. I blinked, and she was just nodding at me, her smile having changed to a look of concern. "Whatever," I said. "How about some lunch?" ------- Debbie talked Mary and I into a nice little Thai restaurant that Debbie and Aimee liked in the area. I'd never had any Thai food before, but a few friends back when I was in the service said that it was good food. I was game to try it. The restaurant was quiet, but brightly lit up. When we arrived, Aimee immediately said something to the hostess in a foreign language. The hostess smiled, and said something rapidly back to Aimee. She then looked at the four of us and said, "Right this way!" We followed her to a large round table near a corner of the room. The table could easily have sit six people. I had noticed that there were plenty of tables for four already set up, and then realized that where we were sitting was probably the most secluded table in the room--Aimee probably had asked for a little privacy. "Were you speaking Thai... or is it called Siamese?" I asked. "That was Mandarin," she replied. "Chinese?" I asked. She nodded. I was wondering about Aimee's nationality. Debbie said she was Polynesian, but that could mean she was from any of quite a few places. Mandarin Chinese wasn't spoken in many Polynesian islands. Aimee looked at me and answered my question for me. "My mother was Hawaiian, and my father was French Polynesian," she said. I smiled at her. "I guess I'm just your average White Anglo-Saxon Atheist," I said, sarcastically. Aimee's manner somehow spooked me. Aimee's eyes opened wide and looked concerned when I said that, and she gave me that penetrating glance again. We were sitting there about five minutes when I realized that we hadn't gotten any menus yet. I started looking for the waitress, and Aimee noticed. "Jim, there's no need to order here. The waitress will just bring out food. Like a smorgasbord. I assure you that nothing will go to waste." I looked at Aimee. She did seem to know what I was thinking. I'd better be careful about what I thought when she was around. Aimee looked at me again with that knowing smile. Damn it... she was doing it again! The waitress appeared with four glasses and a bottle of wine with the name "Lotus Blossom" or "Thai Blossom" or something similar. I was never a wine snob, but Aimee' simply nodded to the waitress, and she opened the bottle without any fanfare and poured the four glasses. "Here's to Mary and Jim. Two good people," said Aimee, raising her glass. "Here's to all of us. All good people," I answered, looking her straight in her eyes. The meal was extraordinary. I am not a man that likes vegetables, but the combination of greens, with fruits, meat, and exotic spices was quite memorable. It was as if everything was different from each other. Some stuff was spicy, but enjoyable. Others were just simply delicious. My stomach told me that I should visit more Thai restaurants, and maybe find my way to visiting the country. After that glorious meal, Debbie offered to take Mary shopping. Aimee said that she needed to do some more research, and gave the keys to the limo to Mary. As the two girls walked off, Aimee turned to me and said, "We need to talk, Captain James Montgomery." "Oh?" I asked, taken aback. "Yes. Let's go back to Mary's apartment. It's a little bigger than Debbie's." I nodded in agreement, and followed the gorgeous Polynesian woman out of the restaurant and back to the apartment. ------- "Captain Montgomery," Aimee said as soon as the door was shut. "I know a few things about you. First, I wish to put your mind at ease. I do know you hold a power over my boss, but it is not my opinion that you are dangerous. It is my opinion that you are special." "You appear to know quite a lot about me. Including my name, rank and probably my serial number as well." Aimee had this knack for putting me off like that. "It's my job to look out for Debbie. I've told you that before," Aimee explained. "I'll have you know that your background information isn't what formed my opinion of you." "Huh?" I asked, confused. "Would you mind explaining?" "Well," she began, "when I was growing up, there were stories. Most people thought they were myths, but I always knew that at some level, they were true. Now, I am witnessing you." "I don't follow. What stories?" I asked. "About men that sleep, but never wake up. They invade the dreams of the living." If she was referring to me, I was confused. I never had any trouble waking up. "You think that I sleep, and don't wake up?" I asked. "I'm not totally sure what to think," she answered slowly. She paused, and then said, "When Ms. Malen called me up this morning..." "Ms. Malen?" I asked, interrupting her. "Debbie. Sorry. When she called me up this morning, she described you as 'the man of her dreams.' This was totally unlike her. She basically uses men for a bit and discards them, never devoting any real love or affection on them." That's a terrible thing to say about a woman, I thought. "Yes, it is a terrible thing to say, but it is true," Aimee admitted. Damn. She was reading my mind again. I knew that I didn't say that out loud. I really was going to have to be careful what I thought around Aimee. Aimee smiled at me and continued. "When I talked to her this morning, I knew that something had changed. When I saw Mary in her kitchen, later, I saw something strange in Mary's eyes." She paused, looking at me. "Later, when I saw Debbie, at the apartment, I saw the same thing in Debbie's eyes. However, I saw Mary's aura, and she is a good person. She's a deadly and dangerous person, but not to Debbie, or anybody else near her, and she's a good person." I wasn't sure what Aimee meant about "deadly and dangerous" about Mary. I thought she was just a lovely woman. "Yes, I agree with most of that," I said carefully. "When I saw you, I knew that you were a good person as well. All of you had that same aura. Your is much stronger, almost tangible. It is as if you could look into my mind and read my most private thoughts." Me read Aimee's mind? Huh? "Yes, you have powers," Aimee said, anticipating my response. "I don't know how you came about them. The only people I heard with the strong power I see in you are supposed to be ghosts: 'The people that sleep and never wake up.'" That phrase echoed in my mind as she had said it a few times now. People that sleep and don't wake up. Like a... Holy Shit! Was she talking about what I think she was talking about? "Aimee, Mary and I told Debbie how we met. I think I should let you know as well, if you will tell me what you think." Aimee looked at me with a serious face, and simply nodded. I told Aimee the story about how I had gotten hit by a jeep driven by Mary. How I was in a coma for so many years. How I met Mary in her dreams. I told her how last night, I met Debbie as well. Aimee didn't interrupt me at all. She seemed to accept the story, and nodded even at the strangest things. I even found myself admitting to her that Mary and Debbie had referred to me as their Master. I finished my story, and looked at Aimee for comments. She had a thoughtful look on her face, and after about three minutes, she said, "So you think that a person in a coma could be a person that sleeps and never wakes up?" I shrugged. It was a thought, anyway. Slowly, she nodded. "It could be. It certainly fits with the legends. You have invaded the dreams of both Mary and Debbie, and I think that matches the legends more than a coma." "So, what do these 'ghost people' do? I'm not really dead, thinking that I'm alive, am I?" I asked, suddenly feeling a chill go up my spine. "You are definitely alive, Captain Jim Montgomery," she said with an assurance that I found quite convincing. "You have two beautiful ladies in love with you. There are actually three ladies that would do anything for you." I nodded, and then realized what she said. "Three?" "As I said, Jim, you are a good person," she said, looking me in the eyes. "I know that the next time you fall asleep, you may visit me in my dreams. I will not fight you. I will be in love with you. I will truly be with you." This was no longer funny. I was acquiring more women than I knew what to do with. "Aimee, this is not funny. I don't want slaves. I just want Mary." Well, I just wanted Mary... and Debbie... and perhaps Aimee... Her eyes drilled into mine. "You may not think you want slaves, but Mary and Debbie both see you as their focus." "I think I need help, Aimee, and you seem to be the one person that may be able to help me. I really don't want slaves." Aimee just looked at me, thoughtfully. Neither one of us spoke for about fifteen minutes. Aimee was staring at me. Her expression would get solemn, and then it would look like she was ready to ask a question. Somehow, I knew that she didn't want to be interrupted, so I let her think. "Jim. Quick. Without thinking, tell me where Debbie and Mary are." "Huh? How do I know where they are? A mall, probably," I answered. Just then, suddenly, a name popped into my head. "Um... Neiman-Marcus," I said. "How do you know that?" Aimee asked, smiling. "I don't know. The name just popped into my head," I said. "Are they in any danger?" she asked. "Danger?" I asked. "How should I know? Wait... No. They are not in any danger. Aimee, how do I know this?" Aimee had a warm smile. "This is new to you, isn't it?" she asked. Of course! I simply nodded to Aimee. "Truthfully, you don't want slaves. Correct?" she asked. "I don't think so," I answered, truthfully. "Well, I think that the term 'Master' and 'Slave' aren't exactly the right terms. Would you prefer, say, 'Parent' and 'Child?'" Parent and child? Mary suggested that, but I realized that it would make my relation to Mary and Debbie incestuous. I shook my head briskly. Nope. I don't want to get kinky or anything! "Hmmm..." Aimee said, thinking. "How about 'Teacher' and 'Student?'" That sounded better. I nodded, but wondered, what was I "teaching" them? Aimee sighed. "English is such an expressive language, but sometimes it is difficult to come up with the perfect terms. Let's use 'Teacher' and 'Student' from now on. I think the 'Master/Slave' thing is worrying you too much." "OK. I'm a 'Teacher.' Wouldn't that make you MY teacher?" I asked. Aimee smiled a bit. "That's the problem with English. No. I may understand what is happening at a different level, but there's a deeper bond between you and Mary. Almost as deep, perhaps, as the one between Mary and Debbie. Don't try to stretch the analogy too far, because the words aren't perfect." "Mary and Debbie have a deeper bond than Mary and I have?" Aimee sighed, and tried to think how to explain things. "Can you tell me how do you fit in this?" I asked. "If you will have me, I'd like to be your student, too." Shit. Another slave. Even if by another name. Two women were going to be difficult to deal with. Three would be impossible. It might be a dream come true for some guys, but my dick was still sore from last night and this morning! Aimee must have sensed my thoughts, because her spirits drooped noticeably. "Aimee, it's not that I don't like you. The reality is, I hardly know you. I sure as hell don't know how I got mixed up with Debbie. I don't want to end up with hundreds of girls all thinking of me as some Master or Teacher or Guru or something. There's too much of it out here in California. I just want to live my own life." "Debbie found you," Aimee said quietly. "Just like Mary found you. Just like I found you, although you don't seem to want me. There may even be others. I cannot truthfully tell you otherwise." "Aimee, I DO want you, but I don't want to hurt Mary, and I also don't want to hurt Debbie," I said. Aimee nodded, understanding. "I know," she said, quietly. The way she said that broke my heart. I was hurting this girl by rejecting her. I could find no words to express the way that I was feeling. After a minute or two, Aimee looked up at me again. "Is Mary jealous of Debbie?" "Um... I don't think..." I started, and then corrected myself. "No. Mary isn't jealous of Debbie." Aimee nodded. "Is Debbie jealous of Mary?" "Well..." I said and then sighed. "No. They aren't jealous of one another." "They are like sisters, are they not?" Aimee asked. I flashed back to the memory of the two of them in the bathroom. Maybe a bit more than sisters... We continued to discuss things, getting no further really. Aimee sensed my reluctance to have her become a "slave" or "student" and didn't bring it up again. ------- Debbie and Mary arrived back in the apartment a few hours later. They were enthusiastically carrying about a half dozen bags. When they arrived, however, their conversation stopped. Debbie and Aimee exchanged a look between them, and Debbie told Mary and me that she needed to go somewhere. Mary looked at me, and smiled. "Wait until you see what we got!" Mary said, excitedly. Aimee and Debbie left silently. As Mary was showing me her purchases, I vaguely wondered where Debbie was. Immediately, the answer popped into my head... She was upstairs in Debbie's room. Debbie was hugging Aimee. I felt like a big heel, having hurt Aimee, but truth be told, this Master/Slave thing scared the shit out of me, even if you called it Teacher/Student. Mary must have sensed my feelings, because she got quiet. I noticed the lack of conversation from Mary, and looked at her. She had a questioning look in her eyes. I sighed and told Mary about my conversation with Aimee. I neglected to tell her that Aimee had said that she was willing to be my slave, but instead talked about Aimee's interpretation of the "people who sleep and don't wake up" and also her description of the Teacher/Student relationship. Mary listened attentively, waiting for me to stop. When I finally did, she asked me, simply, "So why is Aimee crying now?" "Aimee is crying? She wasn't crying when she left!" I said. "Right now... I know... and I know that you know... Debbie is hugging Aimee in her room, and I can feel Aimee's tears on Debbie's shoulders. I know that you can feel that, too." Actually, I didn't know, but I reached out with my mind and connected to Debbie and found that what Mary said was true. Damn. If you had asked me a couple of days ago if I believed in all this mind-reading shit, I would have laughed in your face. As of today, I had two slaves, with a third girl crying because I wouldn't enslave her. Mary looked at me, and said, "I know that Debbie is worried about Aimee. We both know that you are worried about her as well." I simply nodded, not knowing what to say. Mary grinned at me. "Well, if I'm a slave, this slave wants to fuck her master. Do you want to retire to the bedroom?" How can a master refuse? "Mary... I may not be up for another marathon session," I warned her. Mary didn't seem very disturbed by that. "No problem. We could just cuddle, if you want." She led me to her bedroom. ------- Chapter 6 "I could stay with you, for a while, maybe longer, if I do..." I didn't know what to expect when Mary led me into her bedroom. In the past twenty-four hours, our lovemaking went from passionate to orgiastic as she was joined by Debbie. However, her offer to "just cuddle" was just what the master, er... doctor, ordered. So, cuddle we did. We didn't even take off our clothes. We just lay on her bed, holding each other, not saying a word, but having everything known between us. Then, somehow... I opened my eyes, and I found, to my initial surprise, that I was hugging Aimee, and not Mary. Then I found out the reason for my surprise. I wasn't looking at her from my own point of view, but that of Debbie. Aimee wasn't crying anymore. She was looking at me--well, Debbie--very expectantly. "Aimee," I called softly with Debbie's voice. "Yes, Jim?" Aimee answered. Somehow, her mystic powers knew that she was talking to me, even though it was with Debbie's voice. "I... I can't... enslave you. It isn't be right," I told her. "A part of me understands, Jim," Aimee replied. "At the same time, another part of me feels rejected." I sighed. "I'm not rejecting you, but I need to understand this power before I can force myself upon anybody else. You certainly should appreciate that." "I understand what you are going through, but only intellectually. Emotionally, I find you are a very compelling person. There is a void that I had never known before I met you, Jim, and it seems that only you can fill it now." "How do you know that?" I asked. "The same way that I know it is you talking to me and not Debbie, even though it is her voice that I am hearing," Aimee explained. I said nothing in response. I needed to think things through. Suddenly, I was aware of Debbie's presence. Well, of course she'd be present in her own mind, but up until this point, it had not occurred to me. Debbie thought at me, "Jim, dear, Aimee will be fine. She knows that you will not take me from her. She knows that you haven't fully rejected her... you'll give it a lot of thought, and within time, you will grant her wish." I understood what Debbie was "saying," but I didn't respond. It was just like Aimee's description of understanding intellectually, but not emotionally. Debbie continued. "I share your thoughts... even now, with you somehow inside my head. I know you desire Aimee, and yet I feel no jealousy at all, nor do I feel any about your relationship with Mary. There seems to be enough of you to go around." "Debbie," I thought to her. "I just need to know one thing..." Debbie read my mind. "No. Aimee and I don't have any relationship with each other than being very close friends and our business relationship. Nothing sexual. Up until today, I had never even considered being with another woman." This surprised me. I had figured from her antics in the bathroom earlier with Mary that Debbie had some experience in loving another woman. Again, Debbie had followed my thoughts. "I believe that the bathroom was the first time for either of us. We were sort of aware that you were near, but it was more like a sharing between the two of us." Then, the strangest feeling surprised me. Debbie was blushing, and I was feeling it. I didn't want to embarrass Debbie any more, so I left her. ------- Mary was still hugging me. Wow, how much I loved both of them! Then it hit me. Aimee had told me that both Mary and Debbie loved me. How does one react to that? My mind was on overload. I had more sex in the past couple of days than I had in any week during my previous life. Now, don't think that I'm an unlovable oaf, but to tell you the truth, I had never had a relationship where I could truly state that I was in love with somebody else. How does one react now that there you are in love with two people, with a third claims that she's in love with you, and doesn't mind the other two? Even more worrisome: how does one deal with the fact that Mary and Debbie, who love me, and who I loved, tell me that they are my slaves? I knew that I couldn't handle this alone. Debbie and Mary didn't seem to need to deal with this--they simply declared their enslavement to me, and left everything to me. Not that I disliked them for that; I somehow knew that it really wasn't their fault. The big wild card in this whole situation was Aimee. Unlike Mary or Debbie, she knew what was going on... seemingly even before the entire situation and all of its nuances were even known to me. Debbie had said she had a psychic quality about her, but this whole thing was starting to spook me out. I will be the first to admit that as an adolescent, I had fantasies where one woman (or a whole bunch of them) were my slaves... who lived to cater to every one of my whims. Nevertheless, this was reality. I seemed to have acquired two slaves, and the future looked like there were more people that would want to be willing join my harem. The whole situation was fucking ludicrous. I mean, I was just adjusting to myself being twelve years older than I had remembered myself, and now I have a harem? Mary, as I said, was still hugging me. She seemed to be attuned to my deepest thoughts and knew that I didn't want a stiff banging, but just some time to think things over. Still, I was masculine enough to appreciate the warmth of Mary's body next to mine, even feeling Mary's erect nipples poking into my side. Despite the fact that it was early afternoon, I fell asleep. For once, thankfully, I didn't go outside of my mind to capture a slave. I guess my body needed the rest. It's one of the few times since I woke up from the coma that I don't think that I dreamt... at least, if I did, I have no recollection of it. I woke up about 3 AM, and found Mary still holding me. Life was wonderful. I drifted back to an uneventful and blissfully quiet sleep. ------- I woke up around 9:30 in the morning, expecting Mary to still be in bed with me. She wasn't. Then I did something that told me that something had changed. I felt around for her... with my mind. She wasn't in the apartment, nor was she in Debbie's unoccupied apartment. In fact, neither Mary nor Debbie were in the entire building. Without thinking about what I was doing, I managed to make contact with Mary. She was in a bank, and I realized after a few seconds that she was at work. Mary wasn't working, however. I heard her boss telling her that he was sorry to see her go, but that she looked very happy and he wished the best for her. Mary? Quitting her job? What was going on? Was she leaving me? Debbie was nearby. I could feel her presence pretty close to where Mary was. I made a connection to her, and then knew that Aimee was with Debbie. Mary soon met up with Debbie and Aimee, and they went shopping. I distinctly heard Debbie mention the word "wardrobe." I broke off the connection, and thought about this ability to reach either Mary or Debbie via some mind link. It was weird. It was unbelievable, and it was totally fucking true. I considered the consequences. I could possibly enslave every woman on this planet. I would be very powerful. I would also be a rather obvious target to any male who got wind of this ability. This wasn't something to advertise, obviously. My instinct to back off on this power and not enslave Aimee seemed more and more a good idea as I thought of these things. I'm sorry, Aimee... you will just have to wait. I knew that I had to control this... this power. I hadn't intended to ensnare Mary, and up until I saw Debbie in my dreams, I hadn't even considered the possibility of enslaving anybody else. Could I enslave males, or was my "power" just limited to females? I knew there was one way to find out, but the idea was easily rejected. I had found the idea of females being enslaved to me to be, let's say "distasteful." I certainly didn't want any male slaves... especially sexual slaves. Yep. When it comes down to it, I guess I'm your typical male chauvinistic pig. I was determined that if that was the case, I was going to be one M.C.P. that would be careful from now on. ------- Mary's telephone rang, and I instinctively answered it, naturally assuming it to be Mary wishing to talk to me. It wasn't Mary. Instead, it was some secretary from Veteran's Affairs. She asked if I was Captain James Montgomery, and said that she had a few routine questions to ask me about my disability. The questions she asked were sort of deja-vu, since I had gone over them with some people when I was still in the hospital. A feeling of uneasiness grew over me while the secretary asked me the questions, even though they seemed standard. Then it hit me. How did anybody know that I was staying at Mary's? In the middle of a question, I asked the secretary how she got this number. There was a pause, and she said, "This is the number we have on file for you. Isn't this the correct telephone number?" "Um... it is. I don't recall giving this phone number out to anybody, though," I responded. I was feeling quite spooked. "Let me check, Captain Montgomery," the lady said. There was another pause, and she said, "It says here on your file that you are staying with a Lieutenant Cadley." How the fuck did VA know that? I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stick out. What the fuck was going on? Was I being followed? I had heard horror stories about the Intelligence agencies back when I was in the service, and Gordon Liddy was a recent memory from before I was in my coma. "Well," I said when I heard the lady pause. "I am over here right now, but I've rented an apartment elsewhere. Mary... Lieutenant Cadley has a small apartment." "Oh, I'm sorry, Captain," the lady said quickly. "I didn't mean to imply... oh! OH! No... that wouldn't do at all! I'm really very sorry. Can you give me a telephone number where you would prefer to be called?" The lady seemed to be a bit nonplussed, apparently at what she figured to be some uneasiness about Mary's reputation. I told the lady that I hadn't gotten a telephone installed yet, but that I would call her back in a few days when I got one. She gave me her number, and I rummaged through Mary's apartment looking for a pencil and paper to write it down. Doing that, I put the paper into my wallet. The lady hung up, and I mulled about how people could have assumed that I'd be staying at Mary's. I had thought that our personal relationship had not been something that would have been on any official records. I idly wondered what else were on those records, and who would be interested in them. Another idle thought crept in: could somebody be interested in me, Captain James Montgomery... and... quite possibly... this power that I seem to have over Mary and Debbie? ------- I found myself brooding about my power and that disturbing phone call from VA. It consumed my entire thought process. I couldn't think of anything else. In the late afternoon, there was a soft knock on the door. I knew immediately that it wasn't Debbie or Mary... I knew that I would have felt them before they got that close to me. It had to be Aimee. It better not be somebody from the VA! It was Aimee. I opened the door, and found Aimee there with a pizza box in her hands. "Please let me in, Jim." I hadn't realized how hungry I was, and the pizza smelled wonderful. I smiled at her, and beckoned her into Mary's apartment. Aimee smiled back at me and came in. She walked past me and placed the box on the dining table. "Well, Jim... I can imagine that you have a lot on your mind right now." "Aimee, you have a gift for understatement," I said, giving her a wan smile. Aimee gave me a pretty smile, and answered, "You seem to have an interesting gift as well." I chuckled at her comment, and continued to look at her. After about a minute, Aimee said, "I've been thinking a lot about your gift, too. I think I can help you, if you'll let me." "As long as you realize that I will not enslave you... not until I get a handle on this... this... 'gift.'" There was a bit of a flash of disappointment in Aimee's face, but it changed into a concerned look. "May I help you, Jim?" she asked. "What do you intend to do?" I asked, suspiciously. "Why don't we just talk?" she asked. Aimee spent the next hour or so explaining what she had been taught about those people that invade the dreams of the living. ------- When Aimee had been younger, she had believed those things, but as she grew older, part of her considered the old tales as myths, although she still remembered the stories that her Aunt told her quite vividly. Aimee, as I said, had an unusual gift of her own: that of insight into other people. She told me that she used her gift to ensure that the people she was around were "good" people. Aimee's mother worked hard to help Aimee pay her tuition to a collage where Aimee got her M.B.A. The first person Aimee worked for out of college was James Malen, who was Debbie's father. Aimee knew instinctively when she met him that James was a good person. Aimee enjoyed working for him. Aimee knew that her boss really loved his daughter, and that love for his daughter, as well as his grief over his dead wife, was what drove him in his work. Even with such a powerful drive behind him, James was an exception on Wall Street--he wasn't one to get ahead by screwing over his competition. In fact, James' unselfishness was legendary in the financial markets. As a result, Malen Associates had a very large and contented clientele. James had a partner, Charles Penet. Aimee described him as a good person, also. However, Charles didn't completely share James' graciousness with competitors. James had known that, which is why his interest in the firm went straight to Debbie rather than his partner. Before James' doomed flight, Aimee had a premonition that something unfortunate would happen to her boss. She knew that James seemed to always view her premonitions with a wry amusement, but he said that he didn't want to hurt her feelings, so he listened to her. Aimee knew she couldn't talk him out of visiting Debbie for her moment of triumph, so she tried to change his reservations to a different flight. His private jet was unavailable for one reason or another. At the last minute, however, James' alternate flight got canceled, and he rescheduled himself back onto the very flight that Aimee had avoided. Aimee's thoughts about the death of her boss were mixed. She believed in an afterlife, and knew that somebody like James would be well served in it. However, she felt bad for his daughter, who she hadn't met until after James passed away. Despite working for James for a short period of time, she knew just about every aspect of his financial life, and she did everything she could to help transfer all of his personal assets to his daughter, and helped Debbie through the lengthy probate process. Money would never repay Debbie for the loss of her father, but it might help her get ahead in the world. When Aimee finally met Debbie in person, she found that Debbie, like her father, was also a good person. The two girls got along immediately when they met, and Aimee easily agreed when Debbie asked for her to be her personal financial manager. Aimee could feel Debbie's sadness whenever she thought about her father, and Aimee's heart went out to her. If Debbie's father had one failing, it was his relentless pursuit of success. James had acquired a lot of real estate properties... not only in the U.S., but around the world. He had acquired more money than he would ever be able to spend. Aimee knew that Debbie didn't have that drive. Debbie, instead, was taking a few years off to enjoy herself. They had already visited places in Texas and Utah before heading for California. Aimee had a premonition about her visit to California--not a bad one, but that something momentous would happen. Debbie hadn't known Aimee very long, and mostly saw Aimee's mystic side with amusement, like her father, and didn't put much stock in them. I had heard a lot of this story from Debbie, but hearing it from Aimee's point of view was a bit educational. ------- "So, you have an a ability to know that a person is 'good' deep down," I said to Aimee, interrupting her story. "Since you continue to tell me that I have this quality, too, that should make me feel better?" "No, Jim. You don't understand," Aimee said, frowning. I sighed, wondering where Aimee was going. "Jim, I have always had some sort of insight. My aunt called it a spiritual gift. However, my insights were never really specific, and they were usually tied to emotions. All I could usually get out of them would be that something is good or bad, or that something good or bad is about to happen." "Yes. You explained that," I said, still confused. "Because it was just feelings, even I didn't put too much faith in them. I was careful, like my attempt to reschedule Debbie's father's flight, but that was just being cautious. Even after her father died, I didn't get upset at myself for not having prevented it..." Aimee paused, and I let her continue. She took a deep breath, and then looked deeply into my eyes. "Then yesterday happened." I waited for Aimee to continue, but she didn't this time. "What happened yesterday?" I asked. Aimee took another breath, getting a little exasperated at my failure to comprehend. "You happened. First, I heard from Debbie, and immediately, I know that something profound had changed in her. Something good, but very profound." "OK," I said. I could see that. "Then I met Mary a little bit later, and I knew the same thing had happened to her that had happened to Debbie. So I remembered that Debbie said that she met you, and I checked you out." "Yeah," I said. "I knew that when you mentioned my military rank." "I checked you out. It isn't easy, since the military doesn't like to give out personal records, but information is kept on computers, and it isn't difficult to get information out of those computers when you know what you are doing." "Wait... you broke into the service's computers?" I asked, incredulously. "No, not at all," Aimee assured me. "First, it was easy for me to track down Mary, since she was renting an apartment from Malen Associates. From there, I found out she had been in the military, and she had a few jobs locally. There were notations on some of her records that she visited a hospital patient quite regularly. Hearing that, I knew that you had to be that patient... I could feel it." "Nowadays, there are many other places that have access to records. For instance, the hospital where you were staying. There were a few insurance companies, and a couple of medical schools who were monitoring your condition due to its unique nature. That sort of thing." "You didn't have time to do all that!" I protested. "I actually did. Malen Associates had clients in the insurance industry and in other places. It wasn't difficult to pull a few strings to find out the major parts of your story." "How can that be? I don't even know the entire story!" I said, half to myself. "I can imagine," Aimee said. The way she looked at me, I knew that she could tell how I felt. There was an awkward pause for a few minutes when neither of us said anything. Finally, Aimee broke the pause. "Jim, I know that you were inside Debbie's head yesterday when we were together." I nodded; I had already known that she knew. "I had been crying, as you know. It's obvious to me that you don't know why I was crying," she said. I could see her eyes moisten again. "I know. Because I refused to make you my slave," I said, a bit exasperated about having to go into that again. "You are wrong!" she said vehemently. "Huh?" "Yes. I do want you to make me yours, but that wasn't why I was crying." I never really understood females, despite having been in the heads of two of them. Aimee was making this very obvious to me. I said nothing, allowing Aimee to continue. "I was crying... because I was so happy for Debbie. Debbie still misses her father, but she now has found love. True love. The kind that only comes along once in a lifetime. When Debbie feels emotions, it's like I can feel them as well. I was so happy for her." I said nothing, but I knew instinctively that what Aimee said was not completely true. What happened to Debbie also happened to Mary. If you think about it, it also happened to me. We all found each other. So much for "once in a lifetime." Aimee saw me shaking my head in disagreement. "Maybe the term 'once in a lifetime' isn't the right one, but it's definitely true love. Soft, giving, and, most of all, final. There's a piece of me that feels so happy for Debbie for having experienced it. There's a piece of me that is a little..." Aimee paused, and for the first time, cast her eyes down at her feet. "A little... jealous." I reached out and pulled Aimee's face back and looked into her eyes. "Aimee, I am still not one hundred percent sure what is happening or has happened to me. I do know that this is unusual, and I need to come to terms with it. You can be a big part of helping me to understand. However, in order for me to do that, I really want you as you are. Not as somebody that I happened to enslave somehow." "I understand, Jim," she assured me. "As I said before, intellectually, I understand you, and I may even agree with you, but emotionally..." "I know that your emotions are important, Aimee. I promise to keep them in mind. OK?" Something in her eyes sparkled. The she gave me a little smile. "I believe you. I also believe that you will do what you think is the right thing. That is really the best that one could hope for. You are a good person, and what you think is the right thing will be the right thing." Her smile widened. "So, why don't you tell me how this whole thing got started?" I started my story with my evening walk oh so long ago, through my experiences in the hospital--including the dreams--and ended with the events up to the current day. I included things from Mary's description to Debbie earlier as well. Aimee listened in rapt attention, occasionally asking questions when I started to gloss over things, or when I started getting off the subject. Thankfully, she didn't have me describe my sexual encounters over the last couple of days in any detail, but it was obvious that she figured out that part of the "enslavement" was sexual. After I had brought Aimee up to date, she sat in silence for about ten minutes. We shared the silence together. "Although what you describe sounds remarkably like the stories I heard as a child, the way you describe what happened seems so real," Aimee finally said. "Well, it IS real," I said, a bit weirded out that Aimee seemed to be questioning my truthfulness. "No, Jim. I mean, like something that could happen to anybody." "Anybody, you mean, that happened to be hit by a car and was in a coma for a dozen years," I said, a bit sarcastically. "What I mean, silly, is that your mind has managed to tap into something... something real... something strange." "Yes. That much is obvious even to me," I agreed. "You never had any psychic episodes before your accident? Even as a kid? Premonitions, perhaps?" I thought about this for a moment. "To tell you the truth, I don't think so. I mean, some things I thought about came to happen, but that happens to everybody... coincidences. Certainly nothing on the scale of what is happening now." "What kind of coincidences?" asked Aimee, interested. "Oh, silly things. I'd think of somebody, and sometimes they would call at that very moment. Not always, though. Sometimes, it was somebody else that would call. Sometimes, the phone just wouldn't ring. Coincidences." Aimee nodded. "Perhaps. Let's say for the moment that you never had any kind of psychic episodes before you met Mary." "OK..." "So, something happened either as a result of the accident when you were hit by Mary, or during your treatment," Aimee said. I considered this. Then I remembered the weird phone call. What if they performed some sort of mind experiments on me while I was in a coma? What if I was being monitored now that I had come out? I mean, the Army did conduct tests during the sixties where they gave people LSD... Aimee seemed to sense that I was running through possibilities in my mind. She remained quiet and didn't say anything, allowing me to think. I wondered if I should tell Aimee about that phone call from the VA. After thinking it over, I decided that I was getting too paranoid. I decided that if anything else like that happened again, it might be something that I might share with Aimee to get her opinions. I also had an idea that maybe nobody had been paying attention to me before, but somebody might have suddenly gotten an interest in me when Aimee compiled her quick dossier on me. It was a thought, anyway. Best not to upset Aimee by telling her that she might have given something away inadvertently. Only time would tell. "Jim?" Aimee asked. "Yes?" "I think things will start to settle down," Aimee said, quietly. "It's been a hectic few days for you. Your mind doesn't know how to handle the new sensations and feelings. Just go with the flow, and do what you think is right." "All right." "Remember how you said it took a while after you opened your eyes after to came out of your coma that you could keep them open due to the intense brightness?" Aimee asked. "Yes," I said, not sure where Aimee was heading. "Your might may be doing the same thing right now. It's having problems coping with a concept that it never considered before. Don't get too alarmed. It should get accustomed to the brightness soon." ------- When Mary and Debbie came back from their shopping spree, they showed little surprise that Aimee was with me. They took one look at her and then at each other and finally smiled at me. I thought it was strange that the girls didn't have any packages, since I had remembered that they were doing something about Mary's wardrobe before. "So, where have you girls been all day?" I asked. "Surely, you'd know," Mary said, rolling her eyes. Debbie smiled at me as I started to look sheepish, a bit embarrassed that I had "eavesdropped" on them earlier when I wanted to know where they were. We talked about a lot of things, and I was starting to feel once again a bit like Rip Van Winkle. A lot of stuff happened while I was out. Video tapes! Compact discs! I was going to have to learn quite a lot of things in order to fit in to the present. I glanced at Debbie, and knew instinctively that she had something on her mind. "Are you alright, Debbie?" I asked. "Yeah... I was just thinking..." she said, hesitantly. "Yes... ?" Debbie didn't respond. Instead, Aimee seemed to pick up on her boss' state of mind. "I think that Debbie is a bit confused about what she is to do now, Jim." I looked at Debbie, and she was nodding in agreement. "What do you mean?" "My original plans had me leaving in a day or two," Debbie explained. "I wanted to see all my father's properties, and there is one special one that Aimee and I had fixed up through a proxy in Maui." "Maui... as in Hawaii?" I asked, stupidly. "Yes," Aimee explained. "James purchased a place there. It was originally supposed to be a bed and breakfast... a small hotel... but the people there were very opposed to too many tourists in southern Maui. The original builders went out of business. Debbie's father promised them when he purchased the property that it would never be used commercially, although he had told them he planned that the place might be just for a family or some such thing." "There's a place in Hawaii that doesn't like tourists?" I asked, sarcastically. Aimee looked at me seriously. "Actually, there's a native movement going on there. A lot of us were upset that only a few of the older people actually speak the Hawaiian language, and there is a movement to get back to our roots. We don't hate tourists, Jim. They bring in a lot of money. We just cannot have the place turn into another Las Vegas or Hollywood. Hawaii needs its history." I had forgotten that Aimee had told me that she was part Hawaiian. She spoke with such emotion, however, that I knew that this was important to her... especially the way she had personalized her response. I decided to tread away from that subject. "What I meant was..." I said. "I'm sorry, Jim. It's easy to forget that you haven't really been around for a long time. Hawaii is better than it was back when you remember it, but we have a long way to go. Just don't go around saying 'Book 'em, Dan-O!'" I laughed. "Anyway, about this place?" I said, trying to get back on subject. Debbie stepped in. "Aimee is very passionate about the place. She found an agent in Maui that she gave the task of making the place our 'little grass shack' in Hawaii." Debbie grinned at me. "The little grass shack in Ke-ah-kah... something?" I said, recognizing the song from an old Hawaiian album my parents had years ago. "Kealakekua, Hawaii. Actually, Kealakekua is on the big island. Makena is on Maui," Aimee said, apparently more familiar with that song that anybody else in the room, including me. Mary, in particular, looked at us in confusion. "One day, I'll have to learn how to pronounce that name," I said, half aloud, and half to myself. Aimee's face brightened up as she smiled at me. "Don't worry about it, Jim. You'll have lots of time to learn. Anyway, the work on the 'shack, ' as Debbie calls it, was completed a few weeks ago. We had plans to go there once we were done in California." It was Debbie's turn to turn serious. "That's right. Anyway, now I'm torn... I really want to see this place that Aimee has told me all about... and there's another part of me that wants to stay here for the rest of my life and be with you." Oh, shit, I thought. Here we go again. Then something struck me, and for the first time, I got angry. "Stop it, Debbie!" I said, sternly. Debbie looked as if she had been struck. "Huh?" she said, confused. "I know, and you know, that Mary has quit her job at the bank," I said. Debbie looked a bit worried and said, "But..." "But, nothing. The only reason why a sensible girl like Mary would do something like that is that she has another source of income. Right?" I looked sternly at Mary. "Yes, Jim," Mary said quietly. Aimee looked at me with a concerned look on her face, but said nothing. "Mary doesn't have any special stash of money... I'd know about it. So the only thing left is that you've talked her into going with you. Right?" I directed this last question to Debbie. "I thought..." Debbie started to protest. She was at the verge of tears. Still, Aimee said nothing. "You have wonderful intentions, Debbie, but you'll find that you'll get a lot further with me if you don't try to trick me into doing something. Wouldn't it have been easier if you just asked me if Mary and I could come with you?" Debbie cast her eyes on the floor. "Well, I was afraid..." She paused, and I intended to let her finish. After about half a minute, she said, "I was afraid that you'd say 'no.' Then I'd have a problem, because the place means a lot to Aimee and me." I couldn't stay angry at Debbie. "Debbie, you know that I would never hurt you. I've even said so directly to Aimee. You know that I can get into your mind... and that requires implicit trust." "I... I know," Debbie sniffed. I felt like a shit heel for doing this to Debbie, but she had been trying to manipulate me into asking to come with her, instead of simply asking me herself. I looked at Aimee, who was still looking at me, although she had a bit of a smile on her face. I took a deep breath and said, "Debbie, I'd love to go with you to your place there. I'm pretty certain that Mary has already agreed. Right, Mary?" Mary just nodded her head. "Now kiss me, Debbie, and promise me that if you ever have any concerns or requests... or anything else on your mind... to let me know as soon as possible. I don't like being manipulated," I said. "Oh, Jim. I'm so sorry! I promise!" Debbie said, her sniffles turning into real tears, but no longer tears of sadness. She embraced me and we kissed. I opened my eyes, and Aimee was looking at Mary with a grin on her face. I knew that something had gone on inside Aimee, and I was determined to find out what. Did I just pass another sort of test with Aimee? After Debbie and I broke our kiss, Aimee turned to Mary and said, "Mary, why don't you and Debbie go back to Debbie's apartment and show us what you got at the stores?" Mary grinned wide, and left with Debbie. Aimee waited until the pair were gone and said, "You made me proud, Jim." "I passed some sort of test?" I asked, finding myself put off once more by Aimee. "No, Jim. Well, yes. You did 'pass a test, ' but that wasn't what I was talking about?" "Huh?" I asked. "Debbie has always been a little bit... well, not just a little bit... a pretty manipulative person. This is the first time that I have seen somebody feel confident enough in themselves that they would actually call her to task on it," she explained. "Oh?" I asked. "I think that you will be a wonderful influence on Debbie, Jim!" Aimee said. Then she reached her hands up and drew me to herself, planting a soulful kiss on my lips. I could get used to having Aimee around, I thought to myself. ------- Mary and Debbie had come back from Debbie's apartment with a load of packages. "What's this? A long dress?" I asked. Debbie smiled. "It's called a 'muumuu, '" she said. "It's a traditional Hawaiian dress. I think the style of this one is called 'Hawaiian Sky, '" The "muumuu" was dark blue with light blue flowers arranged in lines down the dress. It looked as gaudy as those old Hawaiian shirts that the hippies used to wear in the sixties. Thinking about hippies made me once again think about the amount of time that I had missed. I started feeling a bit lost. Aimee must have noticed this, and said to Mary, "Try it on. I bet this would look just wonderful on you!" Mary started to walk to her bedroom, and then stopped. She shrugged, and then simply undressed in the living room. This had the effect of taking my mind off of feeling sorry for myself. I was surprised when Mary pulled off her panties and bra, and then wriggled into her muumuu. "No underwear?" I finally asked. "Oh, you old fogey!" chided Mary, pleased at the attention that she was receiving. The dress fit loosely on Mary, but I think that was how the dress was intended to be worn. "Muumuus were invented when the missionaries visited the islands in the early 1800s," Aimee explained. "Up until then, the island girls simply tied material around their waists. Naked breasts embarrassed the missionaries, obviously. In response, our people created these long flowing dresses from cotton and silk and other materials that the missionaries brought with them. We made them colorful and cheerful--imparting our culture, as it were. From then on, these have been sort of our official uniforms." Aimee sounded very much like a tour guide. I listened to Aimee, but my eyes were on Mary. "I see," I said, not turning my attention away from Mary. Despite the fact that Mary was all covered up, the image of her in that dress was very erotic to me. "I see Jim approves," said Debbie. I was a little embarrassed, but everybody smiled, so I did as well. "What else?" I asked. "More of the same?" Debbie and Mary pulled out about five more muumuus. All of them with floral prints on bright colored cloth. Without any hesitation, Debbie pulled off her clothes and chose a burgundy muumuu to wear. I could see how the style was popular. The dresses made Debbie and Mary look lovely, and I could see how the style would make any woman... even larger ones... look beautiful. Mary gasped and looked behind me. Startled, I turned, and saw that Aimee had just pulled on a dark purple muumuu. I saw her clothes... including her underwear... in a neat pile next to her. One would have thought that Aimee, being a few inches shorter than Mary and Debbie, wouldn't have fit as nice into her dress. One would be wrong. It fit her loosely as the others fit Mary and Debbie. Somehow, though, with Aimee's Polynesian looks, it actually seemed more natural on her. "Wow," I said, partially from how much Aimee's looks changed when she wore the muumuu, and the fact that I had noticed that underneath that muumuu was... just Aimee! "Flatterer!" Aimee chided, although I could see that she was appreciative of the compliment. I heard a bag rustle behind me, and turned around to see Mary rooting through another bag. "Here, Jim. You can dress like a Hawaiian, too!" She handed me a dark blue rayon shirt whose pattern almost exactly matched that on Mary's muumuu. I looked at doubtfully. "I don't think that this will go with dungarees," I said. Debbie reached into another bag and pulled out a white pair of denim trousers. "They will, now!" she said, smiling. It was apparent that Debbie and Mary expected me to change right then and there, but I was a little hesitant about undressing in front of Aimee. Aimee must have sensed this, and in a quiet voice, she excused herself to go to the bathroom. I quickly got undressed, but unlike the girls, I kept my boxers on. Debbie, however, noticed something obvious. "Look, Mary. It appears that Jim REALLY likes our dresses! Or... perhaps it was Aimee's..." I felt my embarrassment return, and Mary said, "Yup, I think he got that when he saw what Aimee was wearing. Or, should I say, what she was not wearing?" I could feel my face burning with embarrassment. Debbie moved over to me and said, "Oh, you dear, dear, man. We're not jealous!" She hugged me, and Mary came over and joined us in a three-way hug. I didn't know how long Aimee would be gone, and I wanted to get dressed, but the two girls wouldn't release me. I resigned myself to the clutches of the girls, and continued hugging and kissing them both. The feel of their warm bodies beneath their lovely outfits was easy to get lost in. I was a little surprised a minute or two later, when Debbie turned slightly and said, "Join us, Aimee!" I tried to push away from the two girls, but felt Aimee approach me from behind, hugging me with her arms. I turned, and saw Aimee smiling, her eyes telling me that everything was alright. I relaxed and enjoyed the hugging from the three women. Finally, after about five minutes, I was able to escape from their clutches. "My dears, I DO want to get dressed!" "What a fuddy duddy," Mary said, crinkling her nose in mock anger. ------- Mary talked everybody into going to Peter's for dinner. If the owner was surprised to see me with not only Mary, but two other lovely ladies, and with all of us still dressed in our Hawaiian outfits, he disguised it well. We were seated promptly at a window overlooking the water. Mary, Debbie, and I ordered lobster tails, and Aimee ordered the tuna steak. I was surprised to see Aimee's meal when she got it. It didn't look like any type of tuna that I had ever had in my life. "It's Blue Fin, I think," Aimee said when she saw my confused look. "Very much unlike the kind you get in those tiny cans!" Mary laughed, also. Apparently, broiled tuna steak was something that had become popular while I was "out." Once again, I started feeling like I had missed a lot of my life. "Would you like to try some?" Aimee asked, apparently concerned by what she saw or felt in me. "Would you mind?" I asked. I never had liked canned tuna, thinking it was so fishy. Aimee cut me a piece and fed it to me from her fork. The taste was totally unlike any tuna I had ever had in my life. "That's wonderful! No wonder Peter called it a specialty!" I offered Aimee some lobster in return, and she accepted it. My somber mood (which I started to think of as my Rip Van Winkle mood) had completely disappeared. ------- After the meal, we retired back to Mary's apartment. Aimee quietly slipped away, and Mary and Debbie attacked me when she had left. Mary unbuttoned my shirt while Debbie undid my new jeans. I saw a couple of butter stains on the shirt, and felt a bit bad that I had a shirt for only a day and it was already stained. The girls weren't interested in stains, and after they had me naked, they took me into the bathroom, shrugging out of their muumuus, and pushed me into the shower. The water was warm, and I was quickly joined by Debbie, who stood in the spray, face to face with me. I heard the movement of the curtains, and Mary came in behind me. I was a bit cramped, but delightfully so. Debbie had a bar of soap in her hands, and was rubbing her two hands on it in the warm water, working up a lather. Then she reached over my shoulder and passed it to Mary. Debbie moved her soapy hands onto my chest, and started lathering up the hairs on my chest. Behind me, I could feel Mary doing the same thin to my back. Then, as if they both had the same idea at the exact same time, the two girls pushed into me with their bodies, rubbing their breasts on my back and chest. Debbie had somehow managed to get the soap again, and was starting to lather up my pubic hair. Mary was rubbing her hands on my butt, and the feeling of the four hands and four tits sliding on my body was just wonderful. When Debbie finally ran her soapy hand on the shaft of my cock, I exploded immediately, sending gobs of semen onto her body. She continued to slide her hand on my shaft, and I continued to spurt a good three or four times. While she was jacking me off, I took the bar of soap from her unoccupied hand, and started soaping up Debbie's pubic hair. I felt my fingers slip along her crack, and her legs widened a little to give me better access. I was having so much fun playing with Debbie's cunt, that I was shocked to feel another hand moving with mine. At first, I thought that Debbie was masturbating herself, but it only took a few seconds to realize that Mary had reached around me to play with Debbie. Debbie's hips were moving back and forth at a frantic pace, and I could feel my fingers and those of Mary slip on either side of Debbie's clit. I took my free hand, and rubbed my backside where Mary had been soaping before. As I had hoped, there was still some soap there. I got my hand slippery, and turned my body toward the shower wall. Mary's and Debbie's breasts were now rubbing against either shoulder. I moved my left hand toward Mary's snatch, and she squealed when she felt my fingers enter her unexpectedly. Her hand moved away from Debbie's crotch, and after a few seconds, I had gotten to a really nice rhythm where both girls were gyrating on either hand. Debbie's breaths were coming more frequently, and I could tell she was on the verge of orgasm. I directed a bit more energy toward Mary to see if I could get her to catch up. "Kiss me," I whispered, my instruction to both girls. Without stopping the motions of their hips, both girls kissed my ears, both of them slipping their tongues alongside my ear. This created a stereoscopic sound in my head, one that I will never forget. Debbie was the first to come, moaning into my ear. I put a finger on either side of her clitoris, rubbing the sensitive spot furiously. I did the same to Mary, whose moans came about twenty seconds after Debbie's. I now had two girls moaning in my ears, and I felt their breasts continue to rub into my arms and sides. I kept up the pressure between the two girls' legs. Debbie finally came down from her orgasm, but Mary's was still continuing, going on for another minute. After the two girls came, I insisted that we get cleaned up for real. We rinsed each other off, and I occasionally tweaked either girl's nipples. We then toweled each other off, and retired into Mary's soon-to-be-overworked bedroom. Mary looked at me hungrily, and without a word, she went down on me. I watched her head bob up and down on my shaft. I reached over to Debbie, who was watching Mary at work, and pulled her closer to me. We started French kissing as Mary continued to swallow my cock. If you've never had a woman kissing you while another one is blowing you, you don't know what you're missing! I liked it so much that after five minutes or so, I had the two girls switch positions. Mary was a bit better in the oral sex department, while Debbie was the better kisser. It was just as erotic when the girls traded places, however. So much so, that I soon erupted into Debbie's mouth. Totally spent, I fell asleep. I think the girls worked on each other while I slept. I really don't know and I never asked them. I did know that I was extremely hungry the next morning when I woke up, but then, this was becoming a habit... waking up hungry, that is... ------- Chapter 7 "I've been waiting such a long time... for Saturday!" I woke up, famished. Debbie and Mary weren't in my room. I had a thought to "reach out" to them to find out where they were. At which point, I stopped. A weird thought came to me. What were the ethics of having this mind power? Didn't Mary and Debbie deserve some privacy? Funny... that had not occurred to me before. I found myself brooding over and over about it, unable to come to a decision. However, I made a little promise to myself: I would limit my "visits" to Mary's and Debbie's minds until I sought their opinions on the matter, and until I felt comfortable with doing so. Aimee might have an opinion on this as well. ------- Mary had brought my clothes from my apartment (which had not been used yet!) the day before, and I found some clean clothes and underwear and decided to take a shower. I spent about a half hour luxuriating in Mary's shower, letting the hot water caress my back and the steam clear out my head. My mind kept on thinking back to watching Mary and Debbie getting it on before, and I found myself getting semi-erect. Mary's shampoo had an apple scent to it, one of the kinds that you find in beauty shops--a bit feminine, but nice. It wasn't the scent I preferred, but I knew that my hair needed a good scrubbing. Unfortunately, it ended up making my hair feel like a used Brillo pad. Apparently, Mary and I had different hair types. I stepped out of the shower, and realized that I had left my clothes in Mary's bedroom. I toweled off quickly and wrapped the towel around my waist. I opened the door, and was surprised to see Aimee in the living room. "Oh, hi, Aimee!" I said. Aimee blushed a little when she saw how informally I was dressed, but recovered quickly. "Mary and Debbie are out right now... but I guess you already know that." "Um... actually, I didn't know," I said. Aimee gave me a queer look and then shrugged. "Oh. I'm sorry... I just assumed..." "Aimee, I had been thinking about some things, and would like to hear your opinion." "Anytime, Jim," she said quietly. I smiled at her, "Let me get dressed, first. Did you have breakfast?" "Yes, Jim, and we left you some bagels. You seemed to like them the other day." My smile grew broader, and I walked into Mary's bedroom. My clothes were on her chair, where I had left them, and I quickly got myself changed. I walked back into the living room in my socks. While I had dressed, Aimee had brought out a bread plate with a toasted and buttered bagel on it. She placed it on an end table next to the sofa, with a cup of coffee. There was a tiny pitcher with cream in it, as well as some sugar. Apparently, Aimee didn't know I drank my coffee black. "Wow. You are pretty efficient, Aimee," I said, with real respect. "Not a problem, Jim," she said. Aimee sat down on the love seat, and watched me sip my coffee. She was looking at me, expectantly. I put the cup down, and said, "Aimee, you seem to have some insight into what's going on within me, and I really need somebody's opinion. Can you help me?" Aimee smiled and said, "Of course." "Earlier this morning, I was wondering where Mary and Debbie were. It occurred to me that I could just... um... scan for them. Like you mentioned to me yesterday." Aimee simply nodded for me to continue. I took a breath. "The question is, is it right for me to do that? I mean, shouldn't the girls have some measure of privacy? Just think... their thoughts cannot be hidden from me. This cannot be right." Aimee said, "You are asking me about the morality of doing so?" I nodded. "Yes. The ethics, as it were." Discharged or not, I still considered myself an officer and a gentleman. Aimee said, "I am not sure. It is obvious that people consider their private thoughts private, and being able to see them is an invasion of their privacy." I had a sinking feeling, but waited for Aimee to continue. "Yet, I'm not familiar with the... how would you say it... the mechanics of what you do. Do you simply know what Mary and Debbie are thinking, or do you have to do something to connect with them?" It was a curious question, but I answered. "I don't know if I can really explain it, but it's like I can reach out... and know exactly where they are." Aimee nodded and said, "When you make this connection, do you see their thoughts?" I thought for a moment. "No. I can sort of 'hear' their thoughts when I am interested in knowing something. We can even communicate. Debbie and I did it when I was in her head once after I spoke to you through her. She was able to transmit a thought to me. It's easier with Mary, though." "It's like a conversation in their heads, then," Aimee said, more as a statement rather than a question. I agreed that this was how it seemed to work. Aimee nodded again. "My advice is to not scan their thoughts uninvited, then. Let Mary and Debbie have that level of privacy. When you are 'hearing' their thoughts, are you able to are you able to 'hear' every thought or do you somehow manage to just get to the thought that you want to get to?" This took me longer to answer. "I think... no... somehow, I manage to get exactly the information that I want. I don't recall ever getting any stray thought that I hadn't been looking for." Aimee smiled. "This is all new to me, obviously, but it seems that you are reading their thoughts with their cooperation. You'd have to run some tests with Mary and Debbie to find out for sure, but I feel that if there was something that they didn't want you to know, you'd probably not be able to reach that thought." I nodded, and Aimee startled me by continuing. "Of course, if there was something that they didn't want you to know, you'd probably notice something different and know that they were trying to hide something." I pondered this for a bit. Aimee was saying that I was connecting to some part of Mary and Debbie, and somehow I was requesting a particular thought, and they were somehow giving me that thought. It's a bit better than coming upon a large office and rummaging through the desk, looking for something. "So," I said, "you are saying that they are cooperating with me. It's not like I'm doing it against their will." Aimee frowned. "Maybe, Jim, but remember, you are able to impose your will on them. So, even if they wanted to hide something, you might be able to overpower their impulse to hide it." "It's like Mary allowing you to stay here in her apartment. She does this of her own free will, but you, being bigger and stronger than she is, could also force her to make her share the apartment. The first is freely given, the other isn't." Aimee was making sense, I thought to myself. "So, although I could compel her, to do so would probably be crossing the line between good and bad." "Yes. At least, that is what I think," she answered. I nodded and thought quietly to myself, munching on my bagel. Aimee was a great person for me to have around. "Of course," Aimee continued, "you'd never be able to overpower Mary." "Why not?" Aimee shrugged. "I see something that tells me that nobody will ever dominate her." "I dominate her! She calls me Master!" "Those are two different forms of domination," Aimee said. "Mary gives you domination over her will, but she will never allow any person, male or female, to dominate her physically." ------- While I was eating, my mind was running through thoughts at a furious pace. I had what some people would consider a very desirable power: the power to control the minds and wills of two breathtakingly lovely females. How did I get such a power? Certainly, not everybody that comes out of a coma can control minds. What was different in my case? I remember being told of my injuries after I had come out of my coma. They were what you would expect for somebody stupid enough to get hit by a jeep in the dead of night: bone fractures, massive internal bleeding, even a concussion. A concussion... that would be something that happened to my head. Could this have caused my mysterious power? It could very well be so. Cool reasoning told me that I was probably heading up a blind alley. After all, a concussion would more or less damage my brain; the odds of it activating some unknown power were astronomical. I knew, from the amount of time that I spent in Mary's head, that what had kept her visiting me all those years was guilt, plain and simple. She had hit me, and then, confronted with the fact that I was in the hospital because of her lapse in judgment, she vowed to visit me until my condition improved. Of course, guilt wasn't the reason she continued to visit after I woke up, but Mary and I never really discussed that really; I preferred to think it was that she grew to like me in the many years since our paths had violently crossed. Mary had always believed that I would come out of my coma. I don't know where she got her conviction, because everybody else at the hospital was simply amazed when I returned to the land of the living, breathing, and talking. Somehow, Mary knew that I would come back. I had never examined Mary's motives too much before, and after my conversation with Aimee, I was hesitant to reach out and examine them now without her express permission. Of course, then there was Debbie. How did I hook up with her? Debbie was a rich woman who had no cares in the world, who had absolutely no idea that I even existed... nor did I know about her. Yet somehow, the two of us connected. What was the nature of my relationship with Debbie? Debbie took immediately to Mary, and vice versa. It was if they seemed to think that it was because they had me in common. Aimee, who seemed to be Debbie's best friend, also took to me, although at first, she had been naturally suspicious of me, especially when she discovered the power I held over Debbie. So what the fuck was this power? Aimee's description of "people that sleep and don't wake up" was more or less hoodoo to me: a good story, but not really helping. In fact, trying to fit my experience in being in a coma into Aimee's myths really seemed that I was stretching the analogy to the breaking point. Even Aimee said that she wasn't really describing my coma, but my ability to invade the dreams of others. The fact remained that I had Mary and Debbie both declaring to me that they were my slaves. I also had Aimee' profess a desire to also be my slave. The strange part about that was that neither Mary nor Debbie seemed to have any submissive streak in them. Aimee might be a different story; her soft spoken ways sort of implied that to me, but it also could just as well have been when she told me that she wanted me to enslave her that my opinion of her as a bit submissive may have been formed. The mind is a funny thing. Somehow, that thought made me smile. It was definitely a funny thing, and this is all about my mind, isn't it? I sighed. This really wasn't funny. I told myself that I could be having a bad effect on the lives of three lovely females. I really needed to know what I was doing if I was going to behave in an ethical manner as befits an officer and a gentleman. Aimee interrupted my reverie quietly to tell me that she had some errands to do. I know that she felt that I was working out the situation in my head and needed to sort things out for myself, and felt that giving me some time alone might help. Somehow, Aimee and I had an unspoken bond with each other; not as strong or as direct as I had with Mary and Debbie, but something was definitely there. That was something else that I'd have to think about. After Aimee left, I continued to work out that "bond" that Aimee and I shared. Aimee said she had a bit of an emotional insight to other people. She tapped into my emotional state, and decided I needed to be alone. Maybe that was a one-way bond between us. Yet, somehow, I think I was able to tap... just a little... into Aimee's emotions as well. I had since moved into the living room, and laid down on the couch. I had closed my eyes, trying to sort out all these strange things. I found myself feeling really restful... relaxed... I fell asleep. ------- It was amazing. In my sleep, I could bring myself back to the whiteness that identified my first conscious thoughts after the accident. The state of total confusion had returned to me. Then there was the whiteness as I opened my mind's "eyes" and saw what I later realized was myself in the hospital. It was amazing that all these memories were so easily accessible for me. When I was a kid, I had no memories of any dreams that I had, and now here I was in my thirties, and was able to remember my thoughts from when I was in a coma! When I had awakened at the hospital, I was "debriefed" by the doctors, who were wondering what my experiences of twelve years of coma were like. I knew that talking about my trysts inside Mary's head would have me shipped to the psychiatric ward, and a section eight wasn't something that I had really desired. Instead, I professed that I had very few memories, and hazy ones at that. I didn't see anything wrong about describing the milky whiteness that I had experienced at first, but remained very vague on anything else specific. I remember with some amusement questions about a long tunnel. I had remembered hearing about other people in near death experiences. I had remembered many things about what I dreamt during my coma, but a tunnel didn't seem to be one of them. I remembered quite a lot about what I dreamt during my coma. I was not so sure about my life before the coma, though. While I did remember some things, I realized that there were definite holes in my memories. There were some thoughts that I could approach, but not get a handle on; thoughts that skidded away as I got near them. All of a sudden, unbidden, I saw a face of a man. I really couldn't "see" the man. I could sense a strangely disquieting smile on his face, but as I tried to focus more on the features of his face, I saw that I would lose the detail on that smile. Yet if I tried to focus on his smile, the rest of his face would get blurry. It was an exercise in futility, but I persisted. "I will conquer this," I told myself in my officer's voice. However, that smile seemed that it was laughing at my inability to get any detail on the person behind it. I heard noises, and they were distracting me from trying to focus on this strange face... and it seemed like hours passed before I realized that the noises I was hearing was, in fact, my own voice. I was screaming! "Open your eyes, you asshole!" I told myself in my dream. I finally tore my mind away from that elusive face, and my eyes opened. I squinted at the sunlight beating down on me from the living room window, and saw Mary and Debbie around me, shaking me, trying to make me wake up. Mary was the first to see my eyes open, and she had this really concerned look about her. "It's alright, Jim," she said to me, soothingly. I turned to see Debbie also looking at me, her face a mask of fear. "You... you're back," I said. "We heard..." Mary began, and then paused. "I mean, the two of us... we felt..." Debbie nodded, completing Mary's thought. "Mary felt your torment, Jim. It scared us. We came back as soon as we could. You were screaming..." I was out of breath. My throat was a bit sore from screaming; I must have been loud, and I must have been screaming a while. I could imagine the trouble that Mary could get with her landlord over this, not thinking that Mary's landlord was in the room with me right now. "I... I'm sorry," I said, trying to catch my breath. "Didn't mean... Didn't want trouble... didn't want to scare you..." "Shh," said Mary. "Calm down. We're both here. Where's Aimee?" Aimee? I thought to myself. "Went... out..." "Mary's right," said Debbie. "Calm down. Breathe in and out slowly. You're hyperventilating." My mind digested all this information, and I realized that breathing in and out so fast wasn't helping me. I consciously slowed my breathing, and felt some measure of control coming back to me. It took about five minutes, but I finally felt a bit more normal. "You heard me?" I asked, glaring at Mary. "I... felt you," said Mary. Debbie simply nodded in agreement. This bit of information took me by surprise. Did the girls actually manage to connect with me without me initiating the contact? There were obviously something interesting about this, but this wasn't the time to pursue such avenues of thought. "Thank you. Both of you," I said. "I was having sort of a nightmare." Mary simply nodded. I wondered right then how much of a connection that the two girls made. Did they share that nightmarish face that had haunted me? I looked from one to the other, and couldn't tell. I'd talk with Mary about it later, perhaps. I glanced back at Mary, and noticed a bit of gold dangling from her neck. I focused my eyes on it, and it was a necklace, once that I hadn't seen before. Debbie caught where I was looking and said, "I bought her that today, Jim." "May I?" I asked Mary, reaching up to inspect the charm on the necklace. "Of course," Mary smiled. The bauble was a circle of gold, with a white star in the middle, framed by the circle. The star was tiny little gems or rhinestones. "Lovely," I said. Mary smiled, and said, "It's a gift from Debbie. She said it's me." I glanced at Debbie, who was beaming at my appreciation of her gift to Mary. "It was in the stars..." Mary and I said together. Mary and I looked at each other in surprise, totally amazed that we said the exact same thing at the exact same time! The three of us laughed, and then Mary leaned down and kissed me. Mary and Debbie sure knew how to calm a person down, that was for sure. I looked at Debbie, and she bent down and kissed me as well. ------- I had been voraciously hungry when I woke up, and it was almost two in the afternoon, and all that I had eaten was a single bagel. Now, don't get me wrong. I would gladly turn down a king's feast for a delicious buttered bagel, but my stomach wasn't as much of a romantic as I seemed to be. "Did you girls have lunch yet?" I asked. Mary and Debbie looked at one another, and finally Mary said, sheepishly, "We were... um... at Cicero's... a pizza place near Neiman Marcus. Anyway, the two of us both felt your... um... torment... and we left before either of us had anything to eat." Debbie gave a wan grin, "We sort of left the pizza behind." "So... you two are hungry?" I asked, hopefully, trying to steer the subject into a better direction. "Yes," my two lovelies said together. "How far is Cicero's?" I asked. Mary was about to answer, when Debbie interrupted. "There's a better place closer to here. Nellie's." "Ooh, Nellie's," Mary cooed. "That good, huh?" I said, smiling. "It's a place that was opened from somebody from Chicago. They have Chicago style pizza there," Debbie added. It took all my willpower to keep a straight face after hearing that. My friend from the service, Brooklyn, might have a word or two about where a good pizza came from, and thankfully discretion won out. I said, with a straight face, "Sounds great!" We all headed out. ------- Nellie's was a cozy little restaurant which had subdued lighting, and dark wooden booths. Inside the restaurant was a light smell of garlic, a much more subtle aroma than I had encountered in the various pizza places I had frequented with my friend Brooklyn. There were ferns everywhere, the decor was brass fixtures on dark oak, and the conversation in the restaurant was faint and non-intrusive. I fell immediately in love with the restaurant, making it second only to Peter's, another local place that I was starting to enjoy. "Chicago style" pizza is a sort of pizza with a thick cake-like crust served in a dark round pan. I made an effort not to show too much interest in the pizza. I had started getting pretty embarrassed by my "Rip Van Winkle" reactions to things that everybody seemed to take for granted. Nellie's also had beer, although the girls chose to drink wine coolers. This aroused my curiosity, since before my accident, those kinds of drinks were usually ordered by ladies of lesser repute. I simply ordered a Coke, not being much of a drinker. I noticed that the waitress didn't seem to give any particular reaction to their order, and, much to my surprise, when she came back with our drinks, the coolers were actually in colorful bottles that looked almost like Michelob bottles. As I said, I was ravenous, and between the three of us, we finished two pizzas. Actually, to be fair to my lovely companions, I accounted for three quarters of the pizza consumed. I found that the pan pizza, once you got used to it, actually tasted good. The waitress kept refilling my glass of coke (I must have drank a half gallon or so!) and found between the refreshments and the pizza, I was most happily fed. We all declined dessert, and I even passed on coffee. After we left Nellie's, Mary suggested a walk in "our" park, where we had eaten fried chicken a few days before, and Debbie and I both thought it was a splendid idea. The sun was warm, and I had found that I had a fondness for the smells of grass and fresh air, probably because of all the antiseptic air I had been breathing for the last decade or so. The three of us just wandered around the parks, following sidewalks. We didn't say much, although I could see that look of concern was still in the eyes of both of my sweethearts. I shuddered a little to think of how they must have reacted to my incomprehensible screaming. I excused myself a number of times to empty my bladder of the quantities of coke that I had consumed, using the public restrooms in the park. Dress styles had changed, I noticed, looking at people in the park. When I had last been around, most civilians tended to dress down. Jeans and a T-shirt... sometimes even army fatigues. Now, shorts were making a comeback. Pale colors seemed to be the rage, although there were some older people that dressed in expensive looking black motifs. Females still liked to emphasize what nature had given them, and for that I was glad, although I thought the current trends with the younger females were a bit slutty. I noticed that both Debbie and Mary would receive appreciative stares from the strangers we passed, and the two girls pretended not to notice them. Mary seemed a bit more subdued than she normally was. I know that she had been spooked when she heard me screaming back at her apartment, and she still had a pensive look. I caught her studying me more than once, averting her glance quickly when I noticed her. Debbie excused herself from us, and returned a few minutes later. I knew that she had gone to communicate with Aimee... although how Debbie would know where her assistant could be was beyond my comprehension. When Debbie returned, I noticed a signal being passed between the girls, and looked at them curiously. I decided to confront them. "OK, girls. What gives?" The two girls looked at each other, and hesitated before answering. I knew, somehow instinctively, that neither girl would even consider lying to me or even try to evade my direct question. I think they were trying to figure out how to answer my question. "We're worried about you," said Mary. "Don't fret about me," I said with a sigh. "It was only a bad dream." "Dreams are special to you," Mary said. "Special to me?" I asked, wondering what she meant. "You met us in your dreams," Mary said. Oh, that. "Listen, girls. Everybody has nightmares once in a while..." Mary interrupted me. "I heard you screaming... in my mind. You seemed terrified!" I looked at Debbie, who hadn't contributed to this conversation. She simply nodded in agreement with Mary. "So what does Aimee think?" I asked Debbie pointedly. "She thinks it might be a good idea if we don't keep you alone. If the bad dreams return, one of us will be around to comfort you," Debbie said. I could tell that Debbie had stopped before completing her thought. I stood there, glaring at her until she finally continued. "It might be a good idea, maybe, if you were to see a..." Debbie stopped again, not wanting to continue. I finished it for her. "A shrink? You think I'm nuts?" I asked, hurt that Debbie could think that way about me. Mary said, "No, Jim. You aren't nuts. The fact remains that you were screaming, and that isn't normal, and it might not be healthy. Could you at least just keep an open mind about talking with somebody if these sort of things continue?" I glanced at the two of them, letting my anger subside. I couldn't stay angry at either of them, really. "Well... I have been talking with Aimee..." Debbie's face lit up. "That's wonderful, Jim!" Mary agreed. "OK, but let's keep all this between ourselves," I added. Both girls nodded. Debbie said, "Aimee did suggest that one of us be around you to keep you from being alone. It might help." I thought about it and finally nodded. "What if I want some privacy?" I asked. "Oh. We'll know. We won't mind. We just won't be too far away." We'll know. That sort of spooked me. I had been having second thoughts about invading their minds, but they seemed to have no problem with looking into mine... if that is what they could do. However, I didn't think that this was the right time or place to discuss that. I continued to walk with my lovelies, but my mind was still running an ongoing debate within about ethics. ------- Aimee's thoughts on the morality of my visiting the minds of Mary and Debbie were sound. She really had a good head on her shoulders. I thought about Aimee. She had a very serious side to her, and when she was in that sort of mood, I hardly ever saw her smile. However, when she did smile, it was like it lit up her entire face. Her eyes, eyebrows, mouth, cheeks... it was like somebody turned on a switch. Aimee had a very subtle beauty. My first thought about her when I met her the other day was that she was cute. However, after knowing her a day or so, I began to see the real beauty that was within her. My mind stopped right there. Beauty within her? That was just an expression, right? Yet to me, it meant something more. Like Mary's guilt and Debbie's carefree attitude, these were things that I only recognized once I had been inside their heads. So, what about Aimee? I had intentionally avoided going into Aimee's head, but I now found that I knew her very well... almost intimately. No. Aimee would be totally thrilled and would strip naked and bed me in a second if she knew that I had been in her mind... How the fuck would I know that? The girls had pointed out that dreams were special to me, and that I had met both of them in my sleep... when I wasn't really actively trying to find them. In a way, you could say that they had actually found me. Was this true about Aimee? Despite my desire not to enslave her, had it already happened? No. I knew that Aimee wasn't enslaved (I still thought of that word with distaste). Yet I also knew... or at least I thought I knew... Aimee's mind. Had I been there? This was scary. If I had no control over this power, I would eventually enslave everybody. This would start getting noticed by all the people whose attention I didn't want. ------- My reverie was interrupted by a kid walking toward us. It was strange, but something within me told me that this boy was dangerous. The danger wasn't directed at me, nor even toward the two girls. As I noticed the kid, both Mary and Debbie stopped in their tracks, and looked at me. I was still watching the boy, who had just passed us. I turned around to make sure he wasn't going to attack us from behind... No. We definitely weren't his targets. I knew that. However, attack was definitely on his mind. The three of us were now turned around, looking at the kid, who was moving away from us, unaware that we were watching him. The kid picked up his pace, almost to a happy-go-lucky skip. I knew, however, that there was nothing carefree about his intentions. He was moving faster and faster, and a woman was approaching... In a move that he must have practiced a lot, the kid snatched the pocket book from the lady he was passing. He kept moving. The woman was so startled, that the situation still hadn't sunk in to her. She had been robbed and hadn't even let out any alarm. I looked all around, and there was a policeman in a car driving alongside the park. He wasn't looking into the park, and it appeared that he would be gone in a few seconds. LOOK AT THAT KID, YOU MORON, I shouted within my mind. As if he had heard a gunshot, the policeman hit his brakes and looked right at the kid that was running now at full speed with the woman's pocket book. The policeman recognized the situation in less than a second, and had maneuvered his car into a U-turn. The police car had his lights on, but he didn't turn on the siren, not wanting to alert the kid. The policeman managed to turn his car to the right on an access road that would cross the path of the kid. The kid saw the police car and he checked his advance, and he looked around for a possible escape. DON'T MOVE A MUSCLE, YOU LITTLE SHIT, I thought, and the boy froze. The lady that had been robbed was now making a fuss. Both Mary and Debbie approached her to calm her down, unbidden by me. The policeman got out of his car, and had his nightstick in his hand. He couldn't believe his luck that the boy was just standing there, frozen, like a deer caught in the headlights, or a "tharn rabbit" from the book "Watership Down." I stood on the path where I was when the whole scene started. I couldn't believe what had just transpired. Somehow, I had managed to alert the policeman, without so much as a word. In addition, I had commanded the boy to freeze and he did. Was this all my doing? The policeman grabbed the boy, and efficiently patted him down. He took out something from the boy's pocket that looked like it might be a knife, but I wasn't sure. He took the purse from the boy's arm, and started moving the boy toward the lady, who, thanks to Mary and Debbie, was a bit less shaken, especially seeing that the boy had been caught. "Is this yours, ma'am?" the policeman asked, showing the pocket book to the lady and Mary and Debbie. "Y-y-yes..." the lady stammered. The policeman turned to Mary and Debbie. "Ladies, did you witness the attack?" When he asked this, my mind went into alarm mode. The last thing I wanted was for something like this to make any of us conspicuous. Mary started to answer and checked herself quickly. "Yes... well, we were walking the other way. We heard the commotion, and saw this lady in hysterics. We tried to calm her down." Debbie basically agreed with Mary. The policeman turned back to the lady and said, "Well, ma'am. It seems that this boy... 'found' a pocket book. I figured it might belong to somebody like yourself." "It... it is," the lady answered. "You might want to check that everything is in there," the policeman said. He turned to Mary and Debbie. "Ladies, I'd like to thank you for offering assistance to her. You are fine examples of upstanding citizens. As for this dirt bag..." The policeman glanced that the boy who he was still holding on to. The boy was staring at me in horror. The policeman followed his gaze and frowned at me. "Is this your leader?" he asked the boy. The boy was speechless. Mary saw the danger immediately and said, "No, officer. He was with us. He's my boyfriend." The policeman's gaze softened just a bit, but it was apparent that he was still suspicious of me. "Sir, I'd like to see some I.D." Shit. I didn't want to draw attention to myself, and now here I was, in the middle of it, big time. There were other people starting to gather around. Please, officer, I thought to myself. You don't need to see my I.D. "Actually," the policeman said, looking at Mary and smiling, "If this lovely lady vouches for you, I won't need to see any I.D." The policeman turned to the lady that was robbed. "Is everything there?" he asked. "It... it seems so," she said, sounding still a little shaken. "Do you wish to press charges against this punk?" asked the policeman. "It might be a lot of paperwork to fill out, but I'm willing to volunteer my time to make sure this punk spends some time behind bars." Debbie was now looking at me, silently questioning me to see if I could find a way to extricate us out of this situation. I looked at the kid. YOU WANT TO BE AN UPSTANDING CITIZEN NOW. The kid opened his mouth for the first time. "Please, sir. I promise I won't do this again. I'll be an upstanding citizen." The policeman looked at the kid with utter contempt, probably having heard the same thing thousands of times in his career. I THINK A GOOD FOUR YEAR TOUR OF DUTY IN THE ARMY MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA, I projected toward the boy. "Honestly, sir. I was actually thinking of enlisting. They won't take me if I have a criminal record!" "How old are you, son?" the policeman asked. "I turned eighteen last week," the boy answered. "So, instead of looking at reform school, you might be looking for long time behind bars," the policeman said. "I really want to enlist. I don't know what got into me just before. As soon as I did it, I knew that I was doing something wrong!" The boy was babbling now. The boy turned to the lady he had robbed. "Please forgive me, lady. I gave in to temptation at a weak moment." The lady looked at the policeman with a questioning glance. The policeman looked at the lady and then at the kid. "You intend to enlist? There's a recruitment center about a quarter mile away. Would you like me to give you a ride?" The boy was nodding before the policeman finished the question. "Yes. I would love to. You can even come in to make sure that I sign up." The policeman smiled for the first time. "I think that would be taken as coercion." The boy said, "I... I promise that I'll enlist. I've always wanted to enter the army." "Well, if this woman doesn't mind..." The lady shook her head. "I'll take you to the recruiting center, and then I'll take you home afterward." "We could do that," the boy said. "Maybe you can write me a letter from boot camp," the policeman said. At the words "boot camp" the boy paled, but recovered quickly. "Yes. I'll write you every day..." The officer laughed. "Make it once a month, if you insist. I think you'll have your dance card filled for the first few weeks." The policeman turned to the three of us and the others that had gathered. "The situation here is over. You can all leave." We started to walk away, but the policeman stopped us. "You two ladies, I'd like to thank you for coming to that woman's aid." "I just know how I would feel to have something like that done to me," said Mary. The policeman turned to me. "I'm sorry if I suspected you, sir. The way the boy was looking at you..." "I understand, sir," I said. We were dismissed. As we were going, I could hear the policeman get the victim's name and address for his report. "Ma'am, here's my card," I heard the policeman say to the victim. "If you change your mind and want to press charges, please let me know. I will be able to contact our little friend here through the recruitment center." "Thank you," she said, accepting the policeman's business card. When we got further away, I turned around and saw the policeman lead the boy into his car. Once they were gone, Mary looked at me and said, "You did all that." "What do you mean? I had the kid rob the lady?" I asked. "No, but you knew what he was going to do," Mary said. "I did not. I felt something dangerous about him, but didn't know anything specific." "You got the attention of the policeman. You froze the kid in his tracks." "Well... yeah..." I admitted. "I just know that the army was your idea," Mary said with a big smile. "Guilty," I said. Mary hugged me. "My hero." "Kind of makes me want to get back to the apartment," I said, leering at both Mary and Debbie. "Nope," said Debbie. "Huh?" I asked. This was the first time that Debbie had ever refused any sexual act. Debbie had an evil grin. "There's a nice bunch of bushes over there," she pointed. Mary laughed. "Can't wait, Debbie?" Debbie said, "Nope. There's no time like the present to present our hero with his Hero's Blow Job." My cock sprang immediately to attention, as if somebody had said, "Officer in the room." "Ooh. Sounds like an interesting idea," Mary said to Debbie. "So, which one of us is the lucky one to honor our master?" Debbie asked. "Oh, for such a wonderful act of heroism, he needs at least two presenters." "Agreed." Watching my two lovely women talk that way in front of me was exciting, to say the least. They had led me into a bunch of bushes that seemed quite solid, but once you had gotten inside, were quite hollow. Mary quickly pulled off her top, and I saw that she was braless. Debbie quickly followed suit. The sight of those two women's breasts made my member even harder. "Debbie," Mary said, "if you'll be so kind as to strip our hero, we can get down to business." Debbie simply grinned and quickly had my pants down to my ankles. Making out in a bunch of bushes in a public park seemed so... adolescent. It was as if we were a bunch of kids playing strip poker or one of those other silly games that kids play as part of their sexual discoveries. Mary was sitting cross legged in front of me, and with a smile, she bent over and engulfed my cock with her mouth. I reached forward and started playing with Mary's tits. Debbie leaned over and kissed me on the mouth. I think that the two of them knew how much I enjoyed kissing people. Mary performed her oral skills even better than the night before. If anything, the wickedness of being in public added to the scene. It didn't take long for me to erupt into Mary's willing mouth. The girls then switched positions. I was aware that I had just come into Mary's mouth, and wasn't too sure that I'd enjoy kissing her. However, my misgivings were for naught. Mary was an excellent kisser, and any second thoughts quickly disappeared. It didn't take much longer for me to blast a second jet into Debbie's warm mouth. Since I enjoyed kissing Mary so much after she went down on me, I did the same for Debbie, who seemed a little surprised, but she quickly and eagerly returned my kiss. Soon, both Mary and Debbie were kissing me and each other. I laid back on the dirt, and enjoyed cuddling with the girls. I soon fell asleep. ------- When I awoke, it was getting dark. I quietly managed to wake up the two girls, who were laying with Debbie partially on top of Mary, with Debbie's right breast in between Mary's lovely breasts. I thought how fortunate that I was having two adoring females in love with me... who didn't seem to have any jealousy about each other. I knew that a lot of guys fantasized about such a relationship, but for me, it was real. Even to the point where they wanted to add Aimee to the mix. There was a word that bothered me: Harem. That was a strange word, but that was the word that really described what Mary and Debbie were. They were my girl friends, of course; sexual partners; lovers. Yet they did my bidding, whether or not I requested it. Before my accident, I never had many girl friends, and I had never had been serious with any of them. A lot of women were put off by my army career. Other women were only attracted to the uniform. I cared for neither type. Mary and Debbie were different. We had no secrets from each other. We acted out our fantasies. I know that neither one of them considered themselves to be lesbians, but they readily shared their bodies with each other. It was a weird situation that we were in, but I knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. Sooner or later, this lovely bliss would end. It had to... it was so different. If anybody ever got any idea of our relationship, we'd be subject to so much scrutiny that our lives would be in disarray. I didn't want that to happen. Until that time, I decided that I would enjoy everything, like our latest romp here in the park. Then it occurred to me... while it might be a great fantasy to have a blow job from two lovely girls out in public like this, we weren't really helping our situation. If we kept doing this sort of thing, there's no doubt that we'd be discovered. The prudent thing would be to play it safe. The less chance for somebody to figure out what is happening, the longer we might have to enjoy our relationship. I looked at my two lovelies, and without even hesitating, thought to them: "let's be more discreet from now on." Neither one stirred; I hadn't expected them to. I reached over and tapped Debbie on the back. She didn't woke up quickly, something that I would learn to expect from Debbie. Instead, I tapped Mary, and she woke up immediately and grinned at me. I nodded my head toward Debbie, and Mary lowered her head and started suckling on one of Mary's breasts. After a few moments, Debbie's hands reached up behind Mary's head, pulling her closer. My two lovelies were up. "I think it's time to get back to the apartment," I whispered to them. The two girls didn't answer, but Debbie gave Mary's breast a return suck, which popped when she pulled her mouth away. They pulled their tops back on, and I pulled up my pants. I looked outside the bushes, and didn't see anybody around. I quickly jumped out, and looked around again. When I saw that we were alone, I sent a mental command for the girls to come out. I started walking toward Mary's apartment, and noticed that the two girls weren't coming with me. I stopped, and turned around. "What's up, girls?" I asked. The two girls looked at one another, and Mary finally spoke up. "Debbie has a surprise for you... I mean us." "Debbie?" I asked. Debbie had a smile on her face... not a guilty look. I quickly debated whether or not to go into Debbie's mind and find out what this was about, but I remembered my conversation with Aimee. "I wanted to do something special," Debbie finally said. "My way of thanking you for all that you've done." I was sort of getting used to Debbie's desire to constantly thank me for "all that I've done," but she still managed to surprise me each time she did something. "So what's up?" I asked, intrigued. "I'd prefer it to be a surprise," Debbie said coyly. At that moment, I was very glad that I hadn't probed Debbie's mind. "OK. What should I do?" I asked. "Mary will take you some place. Then you'll meet Aimee and me." "Does Mary know what's going on? Am I the only one that will be surprised?" I asked, smiling. Debbie grinned back. "Yeah. We can't have you knowing everything, now, can we?" She paused, and then added, quietly, "Master." I looked around to see if anybody had overheard; it was becoming a habit with me, but I shouldn't have been concerned; Debbie, as well as Mary, were quite devoted, and had remembered my request for discretion from before. I never really liked the term "Master," especially coming from Debbie or Mary. For some reason, it just didn't feel right. However, I knew that there was no malice in what Debbie said. "No," I answered her. "I can't know everything. Life would be short on surprises." "I know you how you like surprises, Jim!" Debbie said. She ran towards me and kissed me so hard that I was quite literally thrown back. ------- Chapter 8 "Going to the chapel and we're..." Debbie did have a surprise for me, and, as I had suspected, all the girls... including Aimee... were in on it. It started when Debbie put Mary and me into a cab and told me to meet her in a couple of hours. I didn't know the destination, or where we were to meet, but apparently Mary did. We ended up at a Formal store. I had never been in such a place since I was a senior in high school preparing for the prom. I found out later that Debbie and Aimee had made all the arrangements. Mary had remembered my sizes from when we had shopped for clothes the other day, and they seemed to be enough for a tailor to work with. Those measurements, done inexpertly, were remarkably on the spot. Even the tailor nodded in satisfaction as the clothes fit me rather well. Just a sleeve needed shortening, and my inseam was a bit off, but he fixed these minor nits in a manner of minutes. Mary told me to leave my clothes in the store; the owners would get them sent to a laundry and have them delivered back to Mary's apartment the next day. The clothes felt wonderful. I hadn't worn a tux since I was a teenager, and I felt almost like one now, a bit giddy. When Mary came out from where she was trying on her clothes, I was left speechless. She was wearing a dark pink (I was later corrected: "fuchsia") evening gown that was, in a word, stunning. She looked very much like a bridesmaid. The fabric was sheer, and it was strapless. I idly wondered how a woman could manage to have such a dress defy gravity like that. From her breasts, the material clung to her magically, accentuating her lovely slim waist. From there, it flowed magically and beautifully toward the ground. Seeing Mary in the gown gave new life to my cock, and even though I had come a few times the previous night, and a couple of times that day, there was no doubt that my little soldier would be ready for action tonight. I guess my reaction was noticeable; Mary looked at me and gave me a knowing smile. A smile that sent even more blood rushing into the obvious place. "We've got some time. The limo will be here in ten minutes," Mary told me. Limo? I had been hoping to see Aimee, and I remembered that she drove Debbie's limo in the absence of Debbie's normal driver. "We're taking the limo to dinner?" I asked Mary. "Well, dinner is later," Mary answered. The saleslady clucked at the two of us. The light purple shirt that I was wearing matched Mary's dress perfectly. "You two look like such a lovely couple," she said. Mary pulled me close and beamed at the saleslady. I was surprised when I saw a white stretch limo pull up in front of the shop. It wasn't Debbie's limo, but one that was apparently hired just for the night. The driver got out of his door, and opened the passenger door for us. Mary entered first, and I entered after she did. The first thought I had in the limo was that this was going to cost Debbie a fortune. Then I laughed to myself; Debbie had enough money to be able to do whatever she wanted. In a way, I was really happy to have found her. That thought made me stop and wonder. Debbie was always trying to show me how thankful "for all that I've done." So now, here I was, thankful to have found her. I briefly wondered if she'd ever truly understand that. I decided to do something just a little wicked. I reached out and found Debbie's mind (it's quite easy once you understand how to do it). I just sent a "whispered" THANK YOU to Debbie and immediately disconnected. I knew my message was received, and I hoped that she would appreciate it. The limo ride took about ten minutes. Mary didn't say much, apparently knowing that I needed to think some things through, and I did. That episode in the park this afternoon gave me pause. First, I knew that I was able to contact the mind of both the policeman and the purse snatcher. These were both males, and this answered a question that had been nagging at me. Was my power limited to just females? Apparently not. Also, these were the first times that I knew that I was able to contact somebody's mind without that person becoming "enslaved" to me. That meant that there was hope... I could connect with others without doing what I considered "damage." (That thought alone gave me the creeps; the idea that I had somehow damaged Mary or Debbie was causing me all sorts of grief.) Suddenly, I saw hope. I was also a bit giddy; I couldn't wait to see the surprise that Debbie and the other girls had in store for me. ------- The limo stopped at the Hyatt Regency, a place that I had known about but never had the luxury of having visited. It was opulent and spacious. The driver exited the car and went to the side of the car where Mary was sitting and opened the door. Mary offered her hand gracefully to him, and she stepped out. The driver held the door for me, and I got out of the vehicle. I felt a little bit weird stepping out of the limousine in my tuxedo, but the doorman was there and seemed to be expecting me, "The Malen party, I presume?" he asked. "Yes," Mary answered. "You must be Mr. Montgomery and Ms. Cadley?" he stated more than asked. I nodded and he escorted us inside. A bellman was waiting for us, and gave me what appeared to be a credit card. I looked at it, confused. What would a hotel be doing giving me a credit card? The bellman noticed my confusion, and said sotto voce, "Use this in that elevator over there." He pointed to an elevator set off from the others. "It gives you access to the top floor." It sort of made sense. Some kind of security card. I remember them having similar things at missile silos from before my accident. It was weird seeing them in a hotel, but then again, I had been "away" for a bit... The bellman escorted us to the elevator, and took my card from me, putting it into a slot near the top of the controls. He pressed a button marked "P" and the elevator doors silently closed and we began our ascent. As the elevator went up, the bellman removed the card and handed it back to me. I put it into my front pants pocket. When the doors opened, the bellman took Mary's hand and helped her off the elevator. I followed them. We went about three steps into what looked like a large lobby, and the bellman quietly walked back into the elevator and left without a sound (and also without even asking for any tip). I looked at Mary and said, "I guess we sit," pointing to the large furniture in the lobby. Mary nodded and said, "I think they should be ready pretty soon." As if on cue, the door opened and Debbie entered. She was wearing an evening gown that was almost identical to Mary's. I rose from my chair and met her halfway through the lobby. "Hello, Debbie. You look absolutely ravishing!" Debbie greeted me with a warm kiss, and I felt Mary approach us from behind. The kiss turned into a three-way event and I felt myself responding yet again from their attentions. "Slow down, Master!" Debbie said. The term, as usual, made me cringe a little inside, but I saw that Debbie had said it with a smile. "Debbie, this place is fabulous, but it must have set you back a fortune!" Debbie hushed me by putting her index finger on my lips lightly. "Tut, tut. Nothing is too good for our Master," she said. I heard Mary gasp, and turned to look at her. She was staring in the direction from which Debbie had come. I followed her gaze, only to see a wisp of white leave the doorway. I turned to Debbie. "What was that?" "Wait and see," Debbie said cryptically. Once again, I fought the urge to delve into Debbie's mind and find out what was going on. Once again, I was happy that I had done so. "Are you ready?" Debbie asked that of Mary. Mary simply nodded in affirmation. Debbie took a deep breath, and started a little speech. "Jim. Mary and I have fallen in love with you. We completely submit ourselves before you. Anything we have is yours... our money, our homes, our bodies, and even our minds. We give these freely to you. In return, we ask nothing, but receive a lot. We receive love. We receive happiness. You have calmed our minds. Mary had been living a life in guilt. I was on the way to reckless hedonism. You have spared us from that." Debbie paused, and I thought about her words. The "reckless hedonism" seemed to be a good term for the wild sex that the three of us had been sharing, and I smiled at the thought. Debbie, almost as is she was reading my mind, turned red with embarrassment, but then continued. "As our one and only Master, we have done everything you have requested of us. So, Mary and I now ask for one favor... a favor that slaves don't have the right to ask of their Master, but one we request anyway." Debbie paused again, and looked at me expectantly. I was still uneasy with the "Master" thing, but hearing Debbie use the word over and over was making the word less bothersome to me. When she used the word "Slaves" however, that ill-at-ease feeling returned. After about thirty seconds of silence, I realized that Debbie wanted me to respond to her. "Debbie... Mary... I have never refused you any request. I cannot imagine anything you could ask that would not be appropriate. Even if you were to ask for your release from whatever this power is, if there was a way for me to accomplish it, I would. Is that your request?" I asked. Debbie's face turned aghast. "No... NO! That's not our request at all!" Mary, seeing Debbie's reaction, came to her aid. She said, softly, "No, Jim. You have it wrong. We love being yours. I know that the Master/Slave terminology upsets you. Let's use a better term. Debbie and I feel like sisters, which might make you a parent." Mary giggled a little. "Of course, that would make our relationship to you... and with each other... as incestuous. Aimee has suggested Teacher and Student. Can you accept that?" I thought about it. I remembered Aimee telling me the exact same thing. "I can accept that. Is that your request of me?" Debbie shook her head no. Mary continued. "No. We are two students who have the utmost fondness for our... teacher. We sense in you a need, and we wish to fulfill that need for you, but we need your permission. That is what we are requesting." Me? I have a need? Let's face it. I had two gorgeous girls willing to call me Master, who would do anything that I asked. What was there to need? The faces of the girls were serious. I realized that when I visit their minds, probably a part of my own mind was being shared with them. Did they notice something that I have been ignoring all this time? If so, what was it? The girls expected an answer. I had no reason to refuse them, even if they were being intentionally vague about the specifics. "You wish to fulfill a need that I have?" I asked. "Yes," both girls said in unison. "I see no reason to deny that request. You have my permission." The two girls looked at each other, and a look of pure joy erupted between them. Mary turned to me and gave me a flying hug. "Oh, Thank you, Master!" She kissed me, and after about a minute, she broke it off. She giggled, "I meant, Thank you, Teacher!" I smiled at her, and then found myself attacked from Debbie's direction. She kissed me her thanks with one of her wonderful kisses. "So, what is this need that you perceive that I need fulfilled?" I asked when the kisses were finished. "You'll see," said Debbie with a mischievous grin. Curiosity got the better of me. I reached out with my mind to connect to Debbie. Somehow, I failed. What the fuck was this? How come I couldn't connect with her? Debbie simply smiled at me, and walked back to the door where she had entered the lobby, turning back once, saying to Mary, "You can fill him in after I leave. Only tell him enough to calm him down." Debbie left. I was shocked. I tried reaching out to Mary and failed again. Did this mean that my power was gone? If so, then it probably meant that their real request was a release from my power. In a way, I felt as if I had been robbed. I had gotten used to having this power. It was almost like a friend, having been with me even while I was in a coma. I hoped that Mary would still be with me. She had been with me every day before... but that was when I was in the hospital. Would she be leaving me? This power was also a source of paranoia within me. The horrid dream earlier that day, my suspicions of that call from V.A. The look on the policeman's face... "Jim," Mary said quietly, interrupting my thoughts. "Yes, Mary," I said, a little glumly. "You haven't lost your power, Jim." "I haven't... you know about this?" I asked. Mary simply nodded. "I really can't explain everything to you. You'll have to trust us. We're fulfilling a need you have, the best way that we know how." I looked for a seat to drop in. My eyes were starting to tear up. Some fucking officer I was. "Jim," Mary said, a little louder. "Please trust us. Please trust ME!" Words escaped me. I didn't know what to say. Part of me wanted to believe Mary... that my power wasn't really gone. So why was it currently missing? The secretiveness between the girls started to irritate me. After all, if this was supposedly to fulfill MY need, why the secrecy? "Jim. Look at me." Mary had a commanding tone, probably one that she had learned in the Army. I turned. "Trust me," she said. Suddenly, I felt that I could trust her. My tears started to dry up. This was all going to work out. Mary was there for me. "Much better," she said, and her stern look melted into one of love once again. Somewhere, deep in my mind, a warning bell rang out. I was starting to act like a submissive. Mary had told me to trust her, and all my misgivings had faded. Were the girls turning the tables on me? Yet even as I was thinking this, I just knew that I could trust Mary. She had my utmost confidence. Whether or not this was a "planted" thought, it was how I felt at that time. I calmed down. The door that Debbie had departed opened once again, and Debbie reemerged. She took one look at Mary, who shot her a glance. Debbie nodded, and walked over to me. "Jim, I'm sorry for the secrecy. We... we all felt it would be best this way. Please don't distrust me. I enjoy being your... student. I want to continue until the day that I die. I mean this with all my heart." Once more, the tears poured out, but these were of joy, not from the loss of anything. I kissed Debbie, and was treated once again to her masterful technique for kissing. I savored her kiss, and I analyzed it a bit. It was as if Debbie had figured out how to squeeze her entire being into a single kiss... it always felt like that. A man could surely get addicted to a person with her kissing talents. After what seemed to be an eternity, we finally broke the kiss. I looked up and noticed something was different. It took me a couple of seconds, and then I noticed her. Aimee had entered the room while I was kissing Debbie. She was wearing a white gown. It looked almost like a... "Oh, my GOD!" I said, finally figuring it out. The bridesmaids outfits... the formal tuxedo... and now the wedding gown... I turned to Debbie and said, "Look, I love Aimee, but..." I stopped myself. Did I just say "love?" I had. This temporary loss of my power... if anybody could have figured out how to do it, Aimee would. Was she trying to steal my power? Speechless, I turned to Mary. Yet I knew that my suspicions were wrong. Mary wouldn't allow that to happen. I can trust her... Trust. Mary had told me to trust her, and I was doing it, even though every ounce of my being told me to be suspicious. I couldn't distrust Mary. Not the sweet, wonderful girl that revolved her life around me... even when I was a vegetable in a V.A. hospital. I looked at Aimee. There was no hostility there. No all-knowing grin or smirk. She hadn't said a word. Finally, I turned to Debbie, who had a look of hope in her eyes. "You want me to marry Aimee?" I finally asked Debbie. "Will you marry her?" Debbie asked. "Marry her and live as husband and wife? What about the two of you?" I asked. "We're already married," Debbie answered. Mary nodded. "To you." "So, you want Aimee to be a... sister... to you?" I asked. Mary coughed, getting my attention. "It's rude to talk about somebody in the third person in their presence." Mary's smile indicated that she wasn't rebuking me, but reminding me that Aimee was here. I looked at the Polynesian girl. The gown looked stunning on her. It even managed somehow to enhance her smallish breasts without making them look unnatural. Her long dark hair made a wonderful contrast to the milky white lace material. She was a vision of loveliness. "Aimee... I'm sorry," I said. Aimee's lower lip started to tremble. "No... NO! I'm sorry for talking about you in front of you... as if you were a piece of meat or something. I was being rude." Aimee's expression didn't change. She was waiting for the bad news. "Look, both Mary and Debbie want you to be part of our... family," I said. Aimee stuck her shoulders back, trying to brace for the worst. "I will 'marry' you... but under one condition," I said. I saw a ray of hope in her eyes for the first time. I heard Mary catch her breath. I continued looking at Aimee, though. Aimee didn't answer, so I continued. "My one condition is this. I don't want you to lose that special something that you have... your remarkable insight... if you promise that to me, I will marry you." Aimee appeared stunned for a second, but quickly recovered. "I... I promise, Jim." "Then, Aimee... will you marry me?" I asked. Aimee threw herself into my arms. "Of course, you lovable lug!" I kissed Aimee, and tasted the salt from her crying. She hadn't shown it, but she had been very close to tears. My heart melted, and I continued kissing her. When we broke the kiss, both Mary and Debbie were kissing each other. Neither one of them had a dry eye. Mary, seeing that I had finished kissing Aimee, broke her kiss with Debbie and ran to me and kissed me. I saw Debbie rush to Aimee, presumably to kiss her as well. Mary is an excellent kisser in her own right, and she was soon replaced by Debbie, who would probably win some sort of world cup if there were one offered for kissing. Finally, Aimee kissed me again. Her kiss was more sure this time. She seemed less fragile. To think that I had refused this lovely child... When all the kissing was over, I turned to Debbie. "Well, is there a minister or justice of the peace to do the honors?" "No need for that. We have something stronger between us. You know that," Debbie answered. "So, what am I to do?" I asked, confused. I had misinterpreted their desire for me to marry as them wanting a sort of "mother." "Tell each other you love each other. Kiss. Then consummate the deal!" Debbie said. Aimee blushed at Debbie's remark. "Jim," Mary cautioned. "Be gentle with her." I was about to ask Mary when I had ever been anything but gentle with either her or Debbie when the meaning of what Mary had said finally forced its way into my skull. Aimee was a virgin? Aimee's continued blushing confirmed my suspicion. I decided to steer the direction of the conversation back to something that was less embarrassing to Aimee. "Aimee, I love you, and promise to love you forever," I said, meaning every word with my whole heart. "J... Jim... I love you, and I promise to love you and serve you forever," Aimee said. Serve? There was that stupid master/slave thing again. "Aimee... I don't demand service. I want love. Anything else you give, you give freely." Aimee looked me straight in my eye. "I give you everything freely. My love. My obedience. My mind. My body. My service. Everything." I looked at her and saw she was serious. I didn't have much to add, so I just leaned over to her and kissed her again. This led to another round of kisses for everybody. Debbie walked over to the side of the room, and picked up a bucket. A dark bottle was sitting in some ice in it. It had a gold shield on it with dark lettering. "I say we should celebrate with some Dom," Debbie replied. Dom Perignon. I had heard of it, but had never actually had it before. Debbie undid the wire contraption over the cork and then, using a towel that was nearby, covered the top of the bottle and deftly removed the top. A "pop" was heard, but little of the champagne splashed out. Debbie seemed quite expert at these sorts of thing, being a "hedonist" and all... Mary had moved over to help Debbie by setting out some glasses. Aimee and I were left together in the center of the large room. "Jim, I must tell you a couple of things," Aimee said, quietly. I looked at her. What did she want to tell me? "You thought you lost your power. You hadn't. You were simply afraid that the girls really wanted their release from you. You sort of gave that to them. You still have your power, and the girls are still your willing... students. Nothing has changed. It was your fear that made you think you lost it." "How did you know about that?" I asked Aimee. "I could tell by the way Mary was worried about you that something had happened," Aimee answered. I knew that you secretly were doubtful as to whether your hold on the two of them was 'moral' or 'ethical.' Despite what I said, you still had doubts. Let me ask you, Jim. Do you still have those doubts?" Doubts? Well... actually no. I felt more secure, actually. I simply shook my head no. "Mary told you to trust her, and you did. Not because she compelled you, but because you love her. Like you love Debbie, only different. Like you love me, only different. Does this make sense?" "I... I guess so... I have to think about it," I admitted. Aimee grinned, and her whole face lit up. "Yes. Think about it, and when you take me tonight... you'll know that I will do anything and everything in my power to help you." Take her. Interesting way to put it. "Will this be your first time... I mean, being with a man?" I asked her quietly. "Yes. You're the man that I have been waiting my whole life for. You will make me whole. You will complete me. We will all complete each other," Aimee said. "Are you nervous?" I asked her. Aimee smiled. "Not at all, my love. How about you?" Me--nervous? Just because I'll be bedding a virgin? You bet your ass I will be nervous. "Um... no, my love," I answered, but I couldn't make it sound convincing. Aimee shot me a grin. "You lovable liar!" and hugged me. Mary and Debbie both arrived with glasses of champagne. Aimee and I broke off our hug and we each took an offered glass. Debbie looked at me expectantly, and I realized that I was expected to make a toast. I looked at my three lovely ladies and knew what to say. "To Aimee, the newest member of our family; and to Debbie, without whom this party would never have been possible; and not least, to Mary, whose devotion means more to me than she will ever know; and also, to me... for having the honor of the three most wonderful people in the world decide to spend their lives with him. No man, alive or dead, could ever want for more." For such a simple toast, all four of us had a hard time drinking. There was a lump in my throat as I realized how lucky indeed I was. ------- It is time for another digression. It was about this point in time that I had finally realized how lucky I was. If you have been reading this, you would have thought that I had already considered myself lucky. I mean, why not? I had three wonderful women pledge their love and service to me. Wouldn't any man think that as being lucky? Of course, that is only looking at one aspect of it. For one, having women declare themselves as your slaves makes you responsible for them. This was not a responsibility that I had ever asked for, or even wanted. Second, I keep bringing up the fact that I was living in a world where I just didn't fit. I have a twelve year lapse in my life. I've aged; at least my body has aged. My mind was still that of a guy in his twenties. I kept having those "Rip Van Winkle" things. My knowledge of current events was ancient history to my contemporaries. I couldn't keep up with the events of the day... everything from postal employees shooting up their coworkers to instances of terrorism. My chosen field, the Army, had no use for me, except as I was a burden on their benefits payouts. Third, I missed my parents. My father may not have been too happy when I enlisted in the army, but it was because he personally would have preferred for me to have served in the marines, like he had during the Korean conflict. I had actually avoided the marines, because I wanted to succeed on my own, not due to any nepotism (and despite what you may read about the armed forces, nepotism is alive and thriving). My mother had misgivings about me joining, but was proud that her son was an officer and a gentleman. Now my parents were dead. I never had a chance to give them my final farewells. I guess they may have visited me in the hospital, but I never saw them in my "wanderings" of my mind. I missed them terribly! I could always dream of what might have been, but I knew that this sort of thinking was defeatism. Could I have done a good job in the Army? Where would I be now? If I hadn't been in that accident, I would never have met Mary, Debbie, or Aimee. They were all very wonderful, but look at the cost to me personally! I'm not asking for you to feel sorry for me; I'm just pointing out that life is not a bowl of cherries. It wasn't until my "marriage" to Aimee that I actually realized that I was indeed lucky. With Mary, I had a life partner. Mary was a comfortable partner in bed, and loved me with a depth that was scary. With Debbie, I had financial independence. I had some money of my own, from my disability benefits and the proceeds from my parents' insurance policies and estate, I was reasonably well off. With Debbie (and Aimee's solid financial judgment), nobody would be hurting for money. In addition, Debbie had an imagination and enthusiasm in bed that was amazing. Her sexuality was comprehensive, and drove both Mary and I to levels of eroticism that neither of us could achieve without her. With Aimee, I had somebody that seemed to understand what I had been going through... the losses of my life and my parents... and this power that I really needed help understanding and controlling. In my talks with Aimee, it was obvious that she thought it is nature's way of filling in a vacuum. The losses we all had experienced seemed to cause the four of us to be drawn together. Instead of "nature abhors a vacuum," Aimee's take is "nature wants us to be happy." I would learn that this was a naive way of looking at things, and that Aimee's suggestion wasn't entirely accurate. There are a lot of unhappy people out there, and nature doesn't always make their lives better. However, at this point in time, it fit nicely with what had happened. ------- After we finished a few glasses (each) of champagne, Debbie announced that it was time for Aimee and I to consummate our marriage. That announcement brought a flush to my face, as well as Aimee's. Debbie pointed toward the door from which Debbie and Aimee had arrived into the room, and then headed toward another door further to the right with Mary. "Wait!" I said. Both Mary and Debbie stopped in their tracks. "If you think that I am going to let you leave me, you have another think coming!" I said. Aimee was a bit surprised and a bit fearful at what I was saying. She told me later that she thought that I wanted the two girls to be present at Aimee's deflowering. "We thought you and Aimee would want some privacy," Debbie said, emphasizing Aimee's name. "We may, but for now, I think it's time to unwrap our presents." Everybody was confused now. I looked at Aimee, and suddenly, I saw a big smile on her face. She finally figured out what I was getting at. "Which one do you want to unwrap, Master?" asked Aimee. "I'll unwrap Mary. Why don't you do the honors with Debbie?" I said. Mary and Debbie looked at each other, and both of them burst into giggles. I approached Mary and said, "This has been bothering me all day. How DO those things stay up?" I indicated the top of her strapless gown. Debbie giggled some more. "Give hers a tug from beneath," she answered. I did, and found that it didn't come down too easy. The elastic on top kept the material from falling down. The effect was wonderful, because ever since the first time that I had seen these types of dresses, I had been waiting for the moment when gravity would win and I would be treated to a topless female. Oh, well. Another fantasy shot. I finally managed to expose Mary's breasts, but it was by pulling the top down from the top, not from underneath. I gave each one a quick kiss. I glanced at Aimee and Debbie, and saw that Debbie was mostly nude now; Aimee must have had some experience with the sort of gown that the girls were wearing. That gave me pause. I would have thought that Aimee's smallish breasts would prevent her from wearing such a risque' gown. This was something I might want to discuss with her at a better time. I noticed that the nipples on Debbie's large breasts were erect. I wondered, idly, if Aimee would give them a kiss. As the thought went through my mind, Aimee leaned over and kissed them, blushing as she did so. Mary was getting impatient, and it took me a couple of minutes to remove her gown. I draped it over the back of one of the overstuffed chairs, and then removed her panties. Mary and Debbie were now completely naked. I decided to give Mary a good-night kiss. I pulled her body toward mine, and hugged her, pulling her face into mine for a kiss. When our lips met, her mouth was open, her tongue waiting for mine. I obliged, and next thing I know, I had entered her mind. It feels so kinky being naked, French kissing a man that was fully clothed. I felt Jim's body push into mine, causing me to grind my way toward ecstasy. I pushed my sensitive nipples closer to him, building on the sensations... We worked up a rhythm, and I felt an orgasm approach. I left Mary's mind just then, and was back in my own. I pulled my body cruelly away from hers, and her body followed mine, hoping to continue grinding her way to joy. STOP AND JUST KISS ME, I ordered her. I felt her body stop, and knew that her frustration must be terrible. I'd make it up to her later. Debbie and Aimee were kissing, but not as sexily as Mary and I had been doing a moment or so ago. I entered Debbie's mind, and gently opened her mouth, and forced her tongue into Aimee's. Aimee's eyes opened, and looked at Debbie/me, questioningly. Her look softened; somehow she knew I was there. Aimee finally touched her tongue with Debbie's, and she melted into Debbie's arms. We kept up the kiss for a couple of minutes. A part of me wanted to rip off Aimee's clothes and devour her right then and there, but I realized that she probably desired a little more privacy than we had at the moment. I left Debbie's mind, and looked at Aimee and Debbie from my own point of view. They were still Frenching each other, Debbie eagerly continuing where I left off. I reached down and felt Mary's pussy. It was wet with desire. As I started to fondle her, she once again started to grind, this time into my fingers. I contacted Debbie's mind, telling her to send Aimee to me. She did so, and another command had Debbie and Mary start kissing. Mary was instructed to bring Debbie to as an excited state as Mary was. From experience, I knew that Debbie was quicker in this area than Mary, and usually shot off like a firecracker in the presence of a cock, another body, or some willing fingers or tongues. Aimee and I started kissing, our tongues intertwining. I would like to tell you that I love kissing women, even more than having sex with them. It is a very personal connection between me and a partner. Her eyes were wide open as she saw Debbie expertly fondle Mary with her right hand, as her left hand massaged Mary's right breast. Mary was starting to moan; Debbie was hitting all the right buttons. Mary reached for Debbie's pussy, and soon both girls were frigging each other. I was surprised when I heard Mary start moaning. As I said before, Debbie usually goes off like a firecracker, while Mary takes a bit more time. Debbie's hands knew what they were doing. In response, Aimee sucked my tongue even harder, while her eyes were glued to the lovely vision of Mary and Debbie pleasuring each other. Debbie started moaning, and I saw Mary's feet start wobbling, unable to stand erect while her spasms started to consume her. Debbie held up the two of them, even though her own orgasm was starting. Aimee moaned into my mouth. Her eyes were now closed, but I knew that she was thinking about the sight of my two lovelies, and what lay in store for her later. Debbie's orgasm subsided first, and she continued to give support to Mary, whose orgasm was still continuing, although it seemed like it, too, was starting to subside. The two girls continued to kiss while their orgasms faded. Then they pulled their faces apart, and offered each other the fingers that had been in the other's pussy. This was something that I hadn't seen the girls do before, and it thrilled me. My cock was already erect in my tuxedo, but Aimee seemed oblivious to everything, seeming to be in a swoon of her own, her eyes now closed. Gently, I broke off our kiss. Aimee smiled up at me, her face showing just a little embarrassment. I smiled back at her. Not wanting to break the moment with Aimee, I silently commanded Mary and Debbie to retire to their own room, and allow us some privacy. They left very quietly. "I think I would like to help this damsel out of dis-dress," I punned. Aimee scrunched up her face in mock disgust at my lame attempt at humor, and then looked around in embarrassment. She was shocked to see that the two girls had gone. "You, Master, are a wizard," she said softly. "Huh?" I asked. "I love the way you made them disappear," she smiled. I picked up Aimee, who couldn't have weighed more than 95 pounds, and brought her toward the door that Debbie and Aimee had entered before. On the other side of the door was an opulent bedroom, with an elegant four-poster bed wrapped in gauzy fabric like a scene out of a Rudolph Valentino picture. "It's lovely," I cooed, mostly to myself. "You should see the bathroom," Aimee giggled. I looked to the left and saw a large closet with some of my clothes and some smaller female clothes (apparently Aimee's) in it. Next to the closet was an open door that led to a bathroom. I carried Aimee into it, thinking that she needed to relieve herself. To call the room I had just entered a bathroom would be like calling the Taj Mahal a cute little bed and breakfast. It was enormous, with what appeared at first glance to be two toilets in a little private stall (I later found that the other one was a bidet). There was a cozy shower next to the toilet stall. The thing that attracted all the attention was this HUGE bathtub in the middle. It had faucets on the sides that turned out to be hot tub jets. There was enough room for six people to luxuriate in that one bath. "Wow," was the only word that could come out of my mouth. "You bet, Master!" agreed Aimee. For some reason, hearing Aimee call me "Master" was much different than when the other two girls called me that. I think it may be because Aimee seemed to be a natural submissive, that when she used that word, it would make my cock, which was already approaching the hardness of stainless steel, to get even harder. I guess I have a bit of the dominant in me after all. "So," Aimee said. "What does my Master wish to do to his humble slave?" I saw a gleam in her eye as she said it. "Well," I answered seriously. "Since this is your first time, I would be most honored if you would let me know how I could make this very special for you." "Well, the fact that it is with you already makes it special," Aimee said, hesitantly. "My harem girl sure knows how to flatter her master," I chuckled. "If you want to make it extra special..." Aimee hesitated. I waited, but Aimee didn't say any more. "Yes... ?" I prodded. Aimee looked up at me with tears in her eyes. "Look into my mind, Master. Please make me yours." Ahh. The things a master must do. "I'd be honored, Aimee." I connected easily into her mind. It was lovely. In a way, it was similar to looking into the minds of Debbie or Mary. However, with Aimee, it was by her own choice. I hadn't made her mine; she took it upon herself to make herself mine. As I said, she was a natural submissive, but she also had a very strong streak of individuality within her. It was that strong individuality that I had first seen, when she addressed me by my rank the first time we were alone. This was not a girl to be messed with. There was also a naturally submissive side to her. One that was willing to give up her own ego in favor of somebody else... but only on her own terms. I don't know exactly how I "enslaved" Mary or Debbie. I just knew that I had done so, somehow. I didn't need to do anything with Aimee. She was already mine. So, why did she want me in her mind? Just as my curiosity expressed itself, it seemed like a little door was opened in her mind. Entering that door, I found out the reason why she had invited me into her mind. I left her mind, and said, "I'd be honored, Aimee." Before Aimee left my own mind (when did she get in there?), I felt her say, "I will love you forever, Master!" ------- Chapter 9 "Big Ol' Jet Airliner..." I moved out of the bathroom, and carried my delightful Polynesian goddess back into the bedroom. I placed her down like she was a priceless figurine. I moved the lace curtains on the bed aside, and sat down. Aimee was facing me. I started to unbutton her dress. The dress was exquisitely made, constructed of lace and silk and gauzy material. It was tailored perfectly to Aimee, which gave me pause. When did Debbie and Aimee have time to prepare this? I had only known them a couple of days. Later on, Debbie would explain it to me: when you have a lot of money and are willing to spend it, you'd be surprised how quickly things can be obtained. There were many buttons and catches on the dress. I was unbuttoning her back, so she was facing away from me, although she could see me in the mirror in front of her. I paused in my removal to give her a kiss. She rotated her head to give me access. The kisses were quick but sensual. When I finally got the entire top unbuttoned (and this was no small feat, I assure you!), I gently parted it and was treated to the sight of her unblemished back. As I exposed her shoulder blades, I saw that her arms had goose flesh on them. Seeing that, I stood up and kissed her once again, turning her so that she was now facing me. As we kissed, I continued to pull the top of the gown off until she was standing mostly topless. I broke off the kiss so I could survey my prize. She blushed once again, as I looked at her lovely breasts. Her breasts were tiny, but very well proportioned for her height. Like Mary's, they were perfectly round, with very dark brown aureoles. Her nipples, which were quite erect, were light pink points in that sea of brown. "You're lovely," I said, breathlessly. I reached toward her, and touched the tip of my tongue to her right nipple. I heard her groan slightly as I did so. I stood up, and commanded her to undress me. She went to remove my tie from my neck, and I silently grabbed her wrists, and placed them on my pants. She got the hint. Aimee unbuckled my belt, and after releasing the catch in the front, unzipped my slacks and pulled them down. As she did so, she found herself face to face with the seam of my boxers. "Kiss it," I commanded her the way she had indicated to me in her mind. Aimee had wanted her deflowering to be an act of submission to her new Master. I couldn't refuse her. It felt a little weird to me to be acting this way, especially the way that I would bristle when Mary or Debbie would call me "Master." However, as I said, with Aimee it was different. This woman had submitted herself to me willingly, by her own choice. I could not and would not deny her that little fantasy that she had of her first time. It may have been play-acting for me, but not completely. As I said, I guess I had a dominant streak in me after all. It definitely wasn't play-acting for Aimee, also. Aimee silently nuzzled her face closer to my shorts, until my cock, my ever-reliable compass, hit her in the nose. She, as well as I, jumped at the contact, that delicious first contact between Aimee and my penis. Aimee recovered gracefully. She puckered up, and gave it a kiss, looking up at me for approval. I smiled. Plenty of time for oral sex later. Without being told, Aimee pushed my pants down over my shoes, keeping her puckered lips in contact with my cock, repositioning her face to maintain contact as I moved to lift my shoes out of my pants. My cock was oozing a bit of pre-cum by now. Aimee discovered this with a startled "Ooh!" and stuck out her pretty tongue to taste it. She continued alternately licking and kissing the head of my cock, sending waves of joy through my body. A few more minutes of this and I might erupt. No! That just wouldn't do! My mind left my body, and then descended quickly into it, demanding myself not to come. It was an experiment; this worked for commanding the girls silently. Would it work for myself? I'd know in a few minutes. Aimee was now untying my shoes, seemingly unaware of the mental exercise that I had just performed, except that my cock jumped away from her lips as my mind made its reentry. She repositioned herself until she was kissing my member again. Aimee had finally untied both of my shoes. As I went to lift my leg up, my cock jumped away again. She was getting irritated by all the repositioning, and decided to simply take the head of my cock inside her mouth. I groaned in response, feeling her sucking me. I've written that Mary was an expert cocksucker, who could probably get a statue to reach orgasm. Debbie was similarly talented, but with Debbie, it seemed like you could feel her moods when she got excited. Aimee didn't have Mary's technique or Debbie's emotional connection, but the thought that this lovely woman was teaching herself how to orally satisfy me was very erotic for me. I managed to get both of my shoes, and then my socks off. If Aimee had been jacking the shaft of my dick, I probably would have shot off by now, but her continued ministrations of my dick set me wild in a way I had never experienced before. "Stand up," I commanded. Reluctantly, Aimee let my penis slip out of her mouth, and she stood up. The top of her gown was still folded over her hips. I put my hand on the top of the portion of the gown that was still on her, and pushed it over her hips. I saw that she was wearing white lace panties (that had a bit of a wet spot on them), and stocking straps with a single garter, also white. Pushing her gown down as far as I could reach, Aimee stepped out of her dress, dressed only in panties, stockings, a garter, suspenders, and shoes. My first reaction was to tear those panties off and drill her right then and there, but I rejected that. I didn't know what of our encounter Aimee might want as a souvenir, but a ripped pair of panties would probably be too kinky for somebody like Aimee. (I would later find that Aimee had her own kinky side, and probably would have enjoyed the ritual ravishing of her panties, but right then, I was only beginning to explore that sexual mystery that was Aimee.) Anyway, I popped the hooks from her stocking straps, and pushed them down over her panties where she kicked them off. Leaving her garter on, I delicately rolled the top of her stockings down, the way a woman would do it, remembering an encounter with a female before my accident who thought that having a guy do it for her was exciting. I hoped that Aimee would enjoy this little bit of attention. As I got to the bottom, I removed her shoe, and pulled the stocking off. Her panties were more obviously soaked by the time I started rolling the second stocking down. My attention did seem to be exciting her. I looked up at her and smiled. The top half of her body was trembling slightly in anticipation. Having removed the second stocking and her remaining shoe, I swapped positions with Aimee, sitting her on the bed, with me kneeling in front of her. I lightly brushed my fingers over her thighs from just beneath the bottom of her panties, tickling my way toward the top of her garter belt. As I grabbed the belt, I continued caressing her thighs as I pulled it down. Now, both of Aimee's legs were shaking with desire. Once the garter belt was over her knee, I pulled it down and laid it to rest on the top of her perfect little foot, lifting it up and bending my head down to kiss it. Another "Oooh" emanated from her lips. Aimee was now presented to me, wearing only her panties whose bottoms were nearly transparent now due to the amount of Aimee's excitement. Once again, I switched positions with Aimee. I commanded her to present herself to me, one of the mental images I received from her when I probed her mind. Aimee smiled and lifted her arms behind her head, jutting out her tiny breasts for my inspection. I gave each nipple another quick kiss, and then stood up before her. She looked up at me with love in her eyes, and I bent down and kissed her. She opened her mouth and allowed my invading tongue inside. As she was concentrating on the kiss, I slowly positioned my left hand and finally brought it in contact with the bottom of her panties, where her cunt lips were still leaking her marvelous fluids. As my fingers made contact, Aimee's eyes flew open. She looked at me, swooned, and then her eyes closed again, just wanting to experience the sensations. As her eyes closed, I reached out with my mind... softly... and made contact. Aimee was in a state of enormous arousal. She was enjoying my fingers working her pussy from outside her panties, my tongue playing with hers, even the fact that her hands behind her head were starting to get tired. I pushed my body closer to her breasts to add some more sensations into the mix. Aimee's eyes flew open again, and it was then that she realized that I had made contact with her mentally. "I will love you forever, Master," Aimee said in her mind. "I love you, Aimee," I answered. "You are so good... so gentle..." Her mind's voice faded as she reveled in all the sensations that she was feeling. SLEEP! I commanded, and Aimee collapsed in my arms. I brought her to the bed, and looked at her. She was a vision of loveliness, having a "well-fucked" look on her face, even though she probably hadn't reached her first orgasm yet. I pulled off the rest of my clothes, and then removed Aimee's panties. Her pubic hair, which I had seen through her panties just before, was dark... jet black. The hairs were kinky and matted near the bottom where her arousal had slicked them. The lips to her cunt were quite engorged. Her clit, which had emerged from its hood when my fingers had been probing her, was once again covered. I'd fix that in a bit, of course. I walked into the bathroom and started the bath. I set the temperature of the water from the faucets to the way I liked it, wondering idly if Aimee might prefer it warmer or cooler than I did. I had my cock in my hand, and wanted to relieve some of the pressure that I had built up myself, but decided that to be fair to Aimee, I shouldn't do any solo work for now. I picked up Aimee's unconscious form, and deposited her on top of some towels that were laying on a padded bench that was next to the tub, which was, by now, almost full. I turned off the water, and stuck my arm inside the water. The temperature was perfect. On the side where Aimee was laying there was a seat/shelf built into the bath tub. I picked up Aimee, and had her recline on this seat, making sure that her face was well above the water line. I started fondling Aimee again, now directly touching her privates. In a few moments, her clit once again extended. I moved two fingers near it. I then covered her mouth with mine and kissed her again, entering her mind and commanding her to wake up. As her eyes fluttered open, I saw her confusion about her location, and the feel of warm water surrounding her. At that moment, my fingers found her magic spot and started rubbing hard. Aimee's eyes once again closed, and I could tell that she was on her way. I tried to maneuver one of my fingers into her opening, but she was extremely tight. Suddenly, Aimee pulled my body to hers. She shook, and started a low moan. She was now on the throes of her first orgasm. Her body started convulsing. I could feel her nipples rubbing against my chest. Her legs began bucking against my hand. I continued to kiss her, and her mouth sucked my tongue hungrily. We started splashing water onto the floor, but neither one of us cared at that moment. After about a minute, it began to subside. I started to pull my hand away, but she tightened her legs around my hands, forbidding me to leave. I continued to kiss her, and she continued to kiss me, although not as urgently as before. Another minute passed. "That was... wonderful," Aimee said. I smiled at her. "Are we going to... ?" Aimee left the rest of the question unsaid. "Do you want to?" I asked, still smiling. "Um... yeah..." "There's no rush," I assured her. Aimee smiled back. We stared at each other for a minute, and then I said, "Well, at least you could at least wash your Master's body. Right?" Aimee's face turned to glee. "Yes, Master." She took a large bar of soap from a soap dish, and started to rub my chest, taking delight as the hairs on my chest caused the soap to lather. Aimee got a mischievous look in her eyes, and moved closer on me, forcing her breasts in contact with the lather on my chest. This reminded me distinctively of the time I had my two other lovelies wash me the previous day. I wondered if the girls had been talking. The contact was having its effect on Aimee. Her nipples were once again hard. I yearned to touch them, but wanted Aimee to go at her own pace. She moved her face toward my left ear. "Jim... can we... now?" "You can... whenever, Aimee," I said. "You'll find that I'm hard enough." "How do you want me?" she asked. "Why don't we put you on top?" I suggested. "I'm laying here on this seat. Can you position yourself so that you are sitting on my lap and we're face to face?" "You mean, you want me to..." "Yes. Do it at your own pace. If you feel any pain, stop. If it feels good, find a good speed." "This will feel good to you?" she asked. "Just about anything you do that makes you feel good will make me feel good as well," I promised her. I sat up in my seat, opening my legs just a little. Aimee positioned herself a couple of ways, and then found herself kneeling between my hips, her pussy an inch or so above me. I guided her hand to my crotch under the water, and she quickly caught on how to position herself best. As my penis touched her cunt lips, she froze. I entered her mind, and saw the fear. CALM DOWN, I commanded to her silently. She eased up, a bit. I PROMISE I WON'T HURT YOU. She was a little more confident at this point. She moved the head of my cock up and down her slit, shuddering slightly when my dick touched her clit. As she did so, I twisted very slightly so that I was now positioned at the entrance to her love tunnel. "Oooh," she said as she pushed down very slowly. I felt her pussy open up and slowly... agonizingly slowly to me... accept my girth. After a couple of minutes, she stopped. I let her stay there, allowing her to govern the pace as her body adjusted to accomodate my invading cock. She looked me in the eyes and said, "I guess this is it!" I tried to give her my most reassuring smile. She closed her eyes and started to descend again. I felt the resistance, and waited for her to stop once again. Aimee surprised me, however, by continuing to press down. I felt her resistance give way, and Aimee grunted. "That wasn't so bad..." she said, half to herself. After another minute, she was impaled on me completely. "How are you feeling?" I asked her. "I think the word is 'fucked, '" Aimee responded. I looked at her face, and saw either a tear in her eye, or some of the bathwater might have splashed onto her face. She was smiling, however and I laughed. "I guess that's a good description," I agreed. After a few seconds, Aimee started to move up. My cock enjoyed the warm friction that her body was giving me. Her pussy was amazingly tight; much tighter than either Mary's or Debbie's. I moved my hands to her waist. After she moved up, she moved down again, slowly once more. There was no resistance, nor did I see any painful reaction from her. By the third stroke, Aimee started to pick up speed. I could feel the stiffness of her clit as it slid down the top of my penis. She started to grind to me, and her rhythm picked up even more. After a minute or two, Aimee had gotten into a great tempo, and she moaning on every down stroke. Her eyes were closed, but her expression was that of pure joy. I wondered if my mental command to myself not to come would prevent me from having an orgasm here in the bath. I didn't want that to happen. All of a sudden, Aimee's body grew rigid and she emitted a low groan. I had remembered this as a sign of her first orgasm. I pushed myself into her as her movements went more and more frantic. She clamped her mouth onto mine, and we kissed as she rubbed her nipples in my chest hair. That was enough to get me going. Kissing does that to me... I felt the first spurt shoot deep into Aimee's womb. She felt it, too, and she adjusted her strokes to milk me. Our orgasms weren't exactly simultaneous, but we both experienced them more or less at the same time. ------- I got up and handed Aimee one of the big luxurious towels from that bench that I had her lying on before I put her into the water. She got out and we let the bath drain, having planned the cleansing water to wash away any blood and other residues from our first time. I then led Aimee into the shower. She looked at me in confusion. Weren't we already bathed? "Jim's Shower Service," I told her. "It is my job to ensure that every inch of your body has been adequately washed." I brandished the soap bar. "Sounds divine," answered Aimee. "Fine. Stand at attention and present yourself to me!" I commanded. Aimee was a bit surprised, but dutifully stood up straight with her hands behind her head. I started the shower, and quickly adjusted the temperature. I guided her under the spray, and went to work. I spent about five minutes washing her breasts, and another five on her back. I took another five minutes playing with her ass, slipping the soap between her cheeks. She squealed at that, whereupon I playfully slapped her bottom and commanded her to be silent like a good slave. Finally, I turned her around once more, and lovingly soaped her bush. I slipped my finger between her legs and played with her clit. As she started to moan, I once again commanded her to be silent. She did, although I could tell that she was having difficulty complying with my instructions. "Very well, Slave. A few slips, but for the most part, you did well," I said. Aimee beamed at me in response. "After the rinse, I'll need to do your hair. So, rinse off, and let me know when you are ready," I told her. Then, as an afterthought, I added, "Oh, yes. You can put your arms down now." Aimee rinsed herself off thoroughly and then called out to me. I had retrieved the shampoo and returned. "Kneel, Slave. I need to do your hair." Aimee complied. My cock was inches from her face. I grinned at her and said, "Open your mouth and suck me. You are to continue sucking until I say you are finished." Aimee had sucked me earlier, but this time I was going to teach her to do it right. As she opened her mouth, I pushed myself to have her suck it deeper, and then pulled out a little. Aimee quickly got the idea. As she was blowing me, I poured the shampoo into her hair. I massaged her head as she continued sucking. I moved her head closer to my crotch as an inducement to get her to suck me deeper. Aimee did her best. She was a pretty quick learner. I felt the stirrings of an orgasm start. I tried to focus on finishing her shampoo, but as I said, Aimee was a quick learner, and an eager one. I didn't know if she knew that I was about to shoot, or even if she had considered swallowing my semen. When the first spasm came, Aimee froze, apparently unsure what to do. My last command was for her to suck, so she continued to do so. When the second spasm hit, she still hadn't swallowed the first. My order to suck prevailed, and she finally swallowed. The next couple of spasms weren't as big, and she accommodated them easily. Dutifully, she continued to suck, even after my orgasm. When I finished shampooing her hair, my penis was starting to get erect again, thanks to Aimee's oral devotions. "Enough! You've done well," I said. I then had Aimee rinse her hair, and when she left the shower, I picked up another towel. I dried her off, and handed her the hair dryer. I heard the dryer start up as I left the bathroom. I had turned down the bed, and I heard the toilet flush and Aimee emerged from the bathroom, completely nude and looking like a fairy princess. "I have one last command for you," I told her. "Yes, Master?" she asked. "I want you to hug your Master all night!" "With pleasure, Master!" ------- I woke up to the wonderful feeling of Aimee on my right shoulder. Her right arm was over my chest; she had indeed hugged me all night! She was still asleep, snuggled against me. I felt it was time for an adequate wake-up call. I carefully pulled the sheets off the two of us, careful not to wake her up. I reached out and found the Mary and Debbie were still asleep. Well, tough luck for them! This was a special occasion. Without waking either girl, I sent commands to them in their minds: Mary to come to the bedroom and give me a blow job that was worthy of her oral talents, and Debbie, I summoned her into the room, to lick Aimee into an unforgettable orgasm. I then commanded them to wake up and do my bidding. I didn't know how Aimee felt about having a girl eat her out, but I had seen her reaction when she saw Mary and Debbie the previous evening in the anteroom. She had been excited. I knew that she knew that she was expected to be a full member in our little "family" (or "school" or "harem" depending on how you viewed our relationship), so I hoped she would just enjoy my present. Debbie and Mary both arrived, nude. They looked like the walking dead. I wondered how late they stayed up with each other the previous night and grinned. Mary mechanically positioned herself between my legs, and started sucking. I was already semi-erect, and quickly got to full staff in no time. Meanwhile, Debbie quietly positioned herself between Aimee's legs, careful not to wake her up. I watched as Debbie slowly guided Aimee's legs apart. She examined her a bit, and then reached out with her tongue. I moved my face closer to Aimee's. When Debbie's tongue reached its goal, Aimee woke up immediately. I immediately kissed her before she could say anything. Her eyes, startled at first, soon lidded into contentment as she experienced Debbie's ministrations. Mary sensed that I didn't want a quick blow, and she gave me one of her slow, lazy sucks. In the position that she was in, she was able to get most of my erection down her throat. The effect was tight, warm, and wonderful. Not thinking, Mary started humming. The humming brought Aimee back to life. I don't know what she had thought she had been experiencing before, but I would bet that she had thought that I was the one sending those lovely sensations into her privates. She was still sleepy enough to not give the logistics any thought. However, when Aimee heard Mary's haphazard humming, her eyes flew open again. She looked down, and saw Mary's lazy bobbing on my dick. She looked at me, questioningly, almost afraid of what she'd see if she looked at her own nether regions. I broke the kiss, and said, "Good morning, sleepyhead!" cheerfully. Mary disengaged herself from me and said, "Good morning, sweetie!" Finally, Debbie said, "Welcome to the family, sis!" Mary and Debbie got back to their assigned chores, and Aimee seemed a little more at ease. We kissed again. After about two minutes or so, Aimee started her low moaning, indicating that Debbie had managed to extract the first orgasm from her. Hearing this, Mary increased her tempo and her suction, setting me off about fifteen seconds later. After finishing with us, Mary and Debbie both climbed into the bed with Aimee and me, and Mary gave me a big sloppy kiss, while Debbie did the same with Aimee. After a minute or two, Aimee sat up in the bed. There were tears in her eyes. "It feels so nice to belong to our family. You are all so wonderful!" ------- Debbie told me that she had the penthouse suite reserved for the whole week. Aimee and Debbie turned it into their base of operations, having people move clothing in for all of us. She even purchased matching suitcases for us all. Mely and June were contacted and Debbie had them come back to town to prepare for the trip to Hawaii. She rented them adjacent rooms elsewhere in the hotel. Mary, Debbie, and Aimee got themselves into a routine, which somehow seemed to be revolved around me. I didn't say anything, nor do anything overt, but if I felt like being with one girl, she would be the one to be with me that day... nothing had to be said or commanded. The girls just knew. The first day after the "marriage" was spent with me and Aimee together. We discussed a lot of things in a quiet little restaurant, including my mind powers, which Aimee referred to as "gifts." Having experienced it, she had a new perspective on it. We didn't break any new ground as to how I got the power, or what it meant in the great scheme of things, but her questions were more targeted. I found myself extremely glad that Debbie and Mary had finally "forced" me to recruit Aimee after all. Mary was my partner the next day. She took me to some movies, mostly with actors that I had never heard about. Robert Redford had grown up considerably, playing an aging baseball player in one of the better movies I saw. It had been released a couple of years before, but I hadn't been around to see it in its first run, and Mary used to have a crush on the actor. When I was with Mary, I found that I didn't have so many "Rip Van Winkle" thoughts; she seemed to understand, and really tried to help me through them. Our ages were similar, even though I mentally felt that I was still younger than even Debbie and Aimee's. I had a few misgivings when Debbie's other employees, Mely and June, arrived. I discussed them with my "wives." The first question had to do with whether or not I was expected to bring them into our little family. Everybody seemed to agree that if it were the right thing to do, we'd know about it at the right time, and not to worry ourselves about it until then. The next question was, how would they react to the existence of our family? I had strong misgivings about how our lifestyle would look to the outside world. We weren't legally married, actually, but we all acted as if we were. I knew that polygamy is illegal in America. Aimee's suggestion was to simply not care what the outside world thought; what we did in our private lives was our own business. I could see that this might get us in trouble someday, but I couldn't see any better way of dealing with it yet. Finally, I decided that to other people, Mary would be my "steady girlfriend" and my relationship with Debbie and Aimee was that they were friends of Mary. Eventually, all the girls agreed to that. Debbie's employees weren't bad looking. June was very tall, about five feet, ten inches in height. She had wholesome good looks, with long straight brown hair that and reached down to her hips. Her breasts were about the same size as Aimee's, but looked smaller on June's taller frame. I didn't know who she was when she first arrived; I had expected Debbie's driver to be wearing a uniform. Instead, she was wearing jeans and a solid light purple blouse. I thought her outfit that made her look a bit dowdy. She appeared shy, hiding her mouth behind her hand, and occasionally giggling nervously. I did know that after we were introduced, I had a chance to look at her eyes... one of them was green and the other brown! Surely, this was a girl of mystery! Mely was about an inch taller than Aimee. Her build was a bit stockier, although she was definitely not overweight. She had dark, bushy curly black hair, and a face that looked like she had retained her baby fat, giving her face a perpetual smile. Her breasts were a bit more endowed than either Aimee or June, but less so than Mary's or Debbie's. If either June or Mely had any misgivings over Mary or me, they did not let out any hint to anybody, including Debbie and Aimee. Specifically, I was worried if somebody would think of Mary or me as being freeloaders after Debbie's money. However, June and Mely truly respected Debbie and especially Aimee's judgment. To them, Mary and I were simply friends that Debbie invited to Hawaii. I found out later on that Aimee and Debbie took the opportunity to discuss things with Debbie's two other employees. What exactly was said was never mentioned to me, but it seems that the two women never seemed suspicious of either Mary or me, except that June seemed perpetually nervous around me. Eventually, June's nervousness around me would fade with time. ------- I wish I could tell you what happened during the jet trip to Hawaii, but I can't. I found that there was a bit of a bad side to having three lusty females after your body: the physical limitations of a male body! Especially one whose muscle tone still hadn't entirely recovered from twelve years in bed. Despite how much I had wanted to tour Debbie's jet, I found a comfortable chair and immediately went to sleep. I slept the sleep of the blissfully unconscious. Mely and June piloted the jet, June acting as co-pilot, as Mely was giving her lessons in preparation for June to become qualified on it. The two handled the jet well; nothing happened on that flight that woke me up. In fact, I was still sleeping as the jet landed. We pulled into some private airport, and somehow the girls managed to get me transferred into a limo that was waiting for us. I finally woke up, and found that I was staring up into Aimee's smiling face; my head was on her lap, "Welcome back to the land of the living," Aimee said. "Mary was worried that you might have lapsed back into a coma." I looked around to find Mary to see if I had really scared her, but Aimee had just been joking. "You're one heavy sack of shit," Debbie said with a twinkle in her eyes. Thinking that was a cue for me to get off of Aimee's lap, I started to move up. "Oh, don't let my boss scare you," warned Aimee. I sat up anyway, pausing to give Aimee a thank you kiss for providing me with such a nice pillow. Of course, this was Mary's cue to get into line for her kiss. Debbie just looked at me, petulantly. "Hmmm," I said, savoring Mary's kiss. I looked at Debbie, whose kiss was conspicuous by its absence, and then shrugged. "Debbie," I asked her softly. "Is anything wrong?" "Not really. Except I wanted to show off my father's plane, but you managed to do your Lazarus thing the second you found a seat." I could tell that Debbie wasn't really angry, just disappointed. "I'm sorry, Debbie, but I'm not Superman. Even if I was, I'd have to swear that you three are living Kryptonite bars!" "Oh, you silly ogre. I'm not mad at you!" Debbie moved over to where I was and gave me my long awaited kiss. Yummy. I looked from Debbie to Aimee to Mary. Three lovely beauties, and none of them the slightest bit jealous of the others. As Mary had said to me back in the mall, life was grand. "Are you heading to your little grass shack, Debbie?" I asked, unfamiliar with our surroundings. "Ask Aimee, she's the tour guide," Debbie said. Aimee blushed a bit. "I was telling the girls some of the history of the islands while June was driving." "Oh, anything interesting?" I asked. "Well, I'd rather not bore them by repeating myself..." Aimee paused while Debbie and Mary both protested that she wouldn't bore them, but Aimee wouldn't hear it. I changed the subject. "How long since we left the states?" I asked. Debbie and Mary both winced at my question. I was confused by their reaction until Aimee softly said, "Hawaii is a state also, Jim. The fiftieth state. It's not nice to refer to the rest of the country as the 'states' since it sounds like we're being excluded." Apparently, either one or both of my lovelies had already made this mistake. "No offense intended, Aimee," I said. "Understood," she answered with a bit of a twinkle in her eye, indicating that she wasn't insulted, but had just wanted to warn me in the event that I'd talk to other islanders. "To answer your question, it has been about five hours since you fell asleep on the mainland," Aimee said, emphasizing the preferred term for the continental United States. I nodded, filing that little bit of information away. "We're approaching Makena right now," Aimee informed us. Our attention went to the outside of the car, where we saw lavish tropical plants and flowers, with dark blue ocean in the background. I felt like I was on a tropical paradise, and... well, of course, I was! It took another five minutes of so to reach Debbie's "shack." As usual with Debbie, the term was quite an understatement. ------- Chapter 10 "If you see a faded sign on the side of the road..." As I had expected, Debbie had been understating the size of her "little shack." Both Mary and I gasped when June pulled the limo into a rather large semi-circular driveway in front of a rather large home. Debbie's "little shack" was an eight bedroom house built on three levels. The person that originally built the place had intended it to be a bed and breakfast, but pressure from the local populace, as well as a generous offer from Debbie's father, scuttled that idea. The place was actually quite large. After Aimee let us in, I found myself in a living room that could be better described as an atrium in a hotel. There were tropical flowers everywhere, well lit by the sun pouring in from two large skylights on the ceiling. There was even a palm tree, which reached about three quarters of the height of the room. Interspersed among the floral arrangements were love seats, over sized arm chairs, and tables, providing a lovely place for gatherings. Looking upward, there were large windows from the second story looking out into the atrium. The place was drop dead gorgeous. I continued to look around, expecting to find a hotel reception desk. "This is your 'shack?'" I asked Debbie, grinning. "It's lovely," cooed Mary. "I've only visited here once before," Debbie admitted. "That was before Aimee had the place renovated. She knew the right people to talk to and designed this place to fit right in with the surrounding area. The house is rather large, but from the outside, it doesn't look that huge. The property is quite large, but we have left most of it undeveloped as a way of giving back to nature." Aimee nodded and added, "Actually, the term 'undeveloped' isn't quite correct, since what the workers did was help replant some of the foliage that had been removed over the past few years." Debbie nodded at her assistant/co-wife. "Nearby," said Debbie, once again being the tour guide, "Makena beach is one of the few pristine beaches left in the state. When the place was first built, the local residents kept throwing up legal roadblocks to keep a hotel from being built here. My father had heard about these problems from Aimee, and he purchased the land and building for a minor fortune, promising everybody that he'd only use it as a private residence." Aimee agreed, "They still didn't like the idea of such a big place being so close to the beach, but they preferred the relative solitude of just a few rich people lounging in the place, rather than having crowds of tourists taking over the entire beach." Debbie continued, "When father passed away..." I could hear her voice crack just a little, but she went on. "I inherited the property. My father has a clause in the ownership papers on this place that it must be kept residential, and he petitioned the local zoning board as well. After seeing this place earlier this year, I decided that this place really should belong to Aimee, as I have many places around the world, and Hawaii is really Aimee's home." Aimee blushed at this. "I am just... overwhelmed," I finally said, in awe of the vast beauty of this home. Debbie and Aimee both smiled at me. Mary, like me, was looking around with her jaw agape. "Let's take you on the grand tour," decided Debbie. "Don't forget, it's my first time, too!" Debbie started with the first floor. Walking through the atrium lobby, she led us to the kitchen. It was rather spacious, looking quite like a professional chef's kitchen. This kitchen could probably serve a meal for a hundred people, I thought. Mary oohed and aahed at the kitchen, completely fascinated by all the counter space that was available, and the immaculate condition of all the appliances. Through the kitchen, Debbie led us to a large dining room. Mary actually gasped as she entered. I had been expecting a real long dining table, like in the movies where a rich husband and wife eat at opposite ends of a dining room table about the size of a football field. I was surprised to see that the dining table was not that large. It was a functional octagonal table--it could be cozy for two people, and at the same time, it could seat maybe a dozen people at the table without crowding. There were four chairs at the table at present, but there were extra seats placed about the dining room unobtrusively but strategically. There were serving tables near the dining table, and near the wall was a china cabinet with no less than three different patterns in evidence, all of them with orchid motifs. Like the atrium, there were flowers everywhere, including a potted palm with orchids of many colors surrounding it. Debbie beamed at the reception that Mary and I gave her "little grass shack." She led us through another hallway at the other end of the dining room, and found a hallway that ended in a plush stairway and a set of elevator doors. "The elevator was in the original plans as a guest elevator," explained Debbie. "When my father purchased the property, he had changed it into a freight elevator--for moving furniture and that sort of thing. We don't generally use it. Maybe someday, we'll convert it into a dumbwaiter." As we walked upstairs, I noticed Aimee quietly separate from us and walk into another door opposite the stairs. Debbie saw my questioning glance, and explained that there were a couple of rooms on the first floor, and her assistants used them exclusively. Those rooms had their own entrance in the back for their privacy. That explanation took me by surprise. Surely, Debbie didn't still think of Aimee as an employee... she was a "co-wife" and an important member of our little "family." I didn't mention anything aloud, though. Mary and I followed Debbie upstairs, and saw what looked like a hotel corridor. There were a few potted plants and orchids nicely placed in between the doors in the hallway. "We took the original room plans, and then did them over, changing them from a dozen spacious rooms to four suites, and one master suite. Let me show you," said Debbie. As she opened the door to the first room, I noticed that unlike most hotels I had been in, there was no key or any lock mechanism in the door--just like a real house. Mary gasped as she entered the room with me. The place looked like it could be an apartment for a couple. There was a living area, with the ubiquitous palms and orchids, and a large television/entertainment center. The main color in this room was pink ("Rose" corrected Debbie when I mentioned the color--all the rooms were given specific names indicating their color scheme). There was a large sliding window that led out to the "lanai," which Debbie explained was a local term for an outdoor balcony. The lanai had a couple of chaise lounges and a patio table with a couple of chairs. The entire porch connected with the other rooms on this side of the house. Coming back into the room, there was a partition that led to the bedroom. This bedroom had a king size canopied bed in it. Debbie explained that one of the other regular rooms had a king size bed like this one, and the other two of the regular rooms had "California King" water beds (this was a water bed the same size as a standard king-size bed, Debbie explained when I asked). The room also had its own private bath, with a roomy bathtub for two with turbo-jets and an integrated shower, a separate vanity, a toilet, and a bidet. I smiled, remembering that large bathtub in the Regency where we had just stayed. Debbie led us out of the first room, and showed the next room across the hall to Mary and me. It was furnished similarly to the first, except the color scheme was bluish-purple ("Indigo" was the name of the room). It was in this room that Debbie showed us the water bed, which looked exactly like the bed in the previous room. Automatically, I pressed my hand down on the top of the bed, and it rippled slowly from my touch, causing the three of us to giggle a bit. The next two rooms, one being orange ("Sunrise") and the other being green ("Lime"), were similar to the first two. When Debbie led us to the final room, the master suite, we had expected to see another similarly laid out room. We were in for a surprise. First, if the other rooms were considered large, this last one was HUGE. The first things you saw as you entered were a living room, a small but well-lit library, and a small, but functional, kitchenette. The color scheme in this room was light purple ("Orchid"). Moving through the living room, there was the bedroom, with another California King water bed, two walk-in closets, and an even bigger bathroom than the others. The bathroom in the master suite also had a door opening to a small exercise room and a sauna. I didn't realize that my jaw had been hanging open until he saw Mary's smiling face laughing at me as she brought her hand to my chin, closing my jaw. Walking back into the bedroom, we saw two large glass panels that looked into the atrium. On the other side of the room, was a large sliding glass door that led out to the lanai. This porch actually had a blue slide that ran from the floor of the porch into a large outdoor pool below. Debbie indicated the slide, saying, "That was one of my own requests that I made. The workers warned me to make sure that the water on the slide is turned on before anyone goes down, or you may lose the top layer of skin on your backside!" She pointed to a spring-loaded water lever that automatically ran the water for a few minutes before it turned itself off automatically. "This place is wonderful," gushed Mary. I agreed. Debbie was quite pleased at our reactions. Debbie decided to adjourn back to the atrium, taking another stairway from the master bedroom directly into the lobby where we had first arrived. "Have a seat," offered Debbie, walking to a chaise lounge close to us. There were three other lounges near her, and Mary I took our seats on either side of Debbie. No sooner had we sat down, when Aimee arrived, wearing a grass skirt and a light tan bikini top, which blended into her skin so perfectly that I did a double take to ensure that she wasn't topless. She had orchids in her hair, and a fresh lei around her neck. She wore sandals made from tan terry cloth, which almost made her look like she was barefoot. IF there could be any doubt that we were in Hawaii, Aimee's appearance removed it completely. Aimee was carrying a tray with a half dozen glasses, an ice bucket, and two large pitchers. "Margaritas? Or would you prefer pina coladas?" Aimee asked, softly. "We also have homemade Sangria back in the kitchen," she explained. I had a margarita, which Aimee prepared carefully, first salting the glass, and then adding the ice, followed by the green liquid. Mary and Debbie both had coladas, which Aimee poured for them over ice. She looked at Debbie, who gestured to the empty chaise lounge next to Mary. Aimee smiled, and poured herself a margarita, and then put the tray down on the table next to the chaise where she sat. Debbie raised her glass in the air. "To my wonderful Master!" she toasted. The other girls raised their glasses and said, "Yes! Our wonderful Master!" I knew that they had said that in jest, and I took it in good humor. "To the most wonderful women I have ever met!" I answered. I tasted the margarita, and was quite impressed about how smooth it tasted. I had been steeling myself for the sharp tang of tequila, but didn't taste it. Instead, it just felt nice and warm going down. I looked at Aimee with appreciation, who grinned at me. She took another sip from her margarita as well. "Yum," said Mary, sipping her colada. "Very delicious!" "Thank you," said Aimee, a bit shyly. "We aim to please." The alcohol, plus the relaxing atmosphere (I could hear water running as if there were some sort of running stream in the atrium), plus the sexual calisthenics that I performed on our last day in the Hyatt Regency, quickly put me to sleep. I was exhausted, but I felt quite peaceful. Blessedly, I didn't dream. ------- I woke up and found myself alone in a tropical paradise. Wait! Where was everybody? I wanted to scan for the girls, and stopped. I hadn't yet got around to talking to them about with the ethics of doing so, and getting their feelings on the matter. The one person I had talked with about that was Aimee, and she told me on our "marriage" day that she had no secrets from me. "Any time you want to share my mind," she told me, "just do so." I therefore scanned for Aimee, and found that she was laying in a bed. She wasn't asleep. "Hi, Jim. I've been waiting for you," she said, apparently detecting me in her mind. Damn smug female! I love her so! I felt her chuckle at my reaction, and I thought again about controlling my thoughts when I was in her mind. It just wasn't safe! I put that thought aside; if Aimee had no secrets from me, I should have no secrets from her. It would just take a bit of getting used to that. "I see that you are worried about Debbie and Mary. They just went for a walk to the beach. It's about a mile or so. Pu'u Ola'i, it's called. The Little Beach. I'll be happy to take you there," Aimee explained. "I'm not really dressed for the beach," I told her. "No bother," she said. "Clothing is not required where they are going." "A nudist beach?" I asked. "Naturist, I think they call themselves. Debbie loves climbing the rocks to get to the little beach." I thought about that. Then, I noticed some hesitation in Aimee's thoughts. "What's bothering you, Aimee?" I asked. She was unsure how to answer, I could feel that in her mind. I quietly told her to calm down and just ask. "I had been thinking about your coma," she said. "Yes?" I asked. "I told you just about everything that I know." "Are you sure that you didn't die, and steal some other soldier's body?" That was a weird question. "Of course I didn't steal anybody's body. I wouldn't know how." I felt Aimee consider my answer. She paused, somehow keeping her thoughts to herself. I decided to let her think. After a minute or so, she asked another question. "Do you think of yourself as a good person, Jim?" My instinct was to answer, "Of course I'm good," but I stopped myself before thinking it "aloud." Instead, I carefully considered her question. Finally, I answered. "Is anybody a good person, Aimee?" "There are good people. There are bad people. Do you consider yourself a good person?" she asked, simply. Again, I thought of her question. I never thought of myself as evil. I couldn't for the life of me think of anything that I had done in my life that I was ashamed about. I really didn't think of myself as a bad person, but does anybody? "I think I'm a good person," I replied, as honestly as I could. "At least... I try to be a good person. How does one tell?" Aimee said, seemingly as if she was quoting something, "A person should hurry toward the good and restrain one's thoughts from the bad." "Are my thoughts bad?" I asked her. "I don't believe so, Jim. You are a good person." I thought about this. I have tried my utmost to be a good person. What if I had just been kidding myself? It worried me. Aimee's answer was pretty self-assured, however. Being called a good person by her did soothe my soul a bit. ------- I think I must have left Aimee's mind, and re-entered my own, falling fast asleep. I realized that I was back in my own mind, and I was sleeping, and after a time, I sent my "presence" outside my body, and looked down on myself. I was startled to find Aimee, reclining next to my body, completely nude. Her eyes were closed, and there was a lovely smile on her sleeping face. Suddenly, I felt a presence next to me... up in the air! "Have a good sleep?" Aimee's presence asked me. "You can do this, too?" I asked, simply amazed. I had an eerie thought of that one other presence I had met near that newspaper machine, back when I was comatose. "No," answered Aimee's presence slowly. "I think this is just temporary. Your mind was thinking about my question, over and over. You stopped answering me... it was like your thoughts were running in circles. After a while, you left my mind, only you somehow took me--what you call my "presence"--with you. Your mind felt peaceful; you were sleeping. Your mind was also open. I could see your heart... You were worried about my question. It worried you to your core." There was a pause, and then I heard Aimee's presense again. "Jim, a bad man doesn't wonder if he is a good man. An evil man doesn't even care. You are a good man, Jim," her presence told me. "I am a good person?" I asked. Her presence, alas, had disappeared. I re-entered my own mind, and opened my eyes. Aimee was looking at me, sitting next to me. "I am a good person?" I whispered to her, making it a question. "You are a good person, Jim," she whispered back to me, making it an answer. She moved her head to mine, and kissed me. "Share with me," she asked. Somehow, I understood what she wanted. As I kissed her, I entered her mind. Once that was accomplished, I entered her lovely nude body. ------- When I was active in the army, I avoided most sexual partners, since I hadn't really been stationed anyplace permanent, and I didn't see it being ethical to "date" the female troops. Now, just a few weeks after being discharged from the hospital, I had three steady partners. Making love with Mary can best be described was always very intimate. Each time we made love, it's like the first time for us... rediscovering each other's bodies and minds, once again, intertwining the two, allowing the love to peak and peak. Debbie, on the other hand, is more like the Fourth of July. I've aptly described her before as a firecracker, and the description fits perfectly. She makes love with an intensity that I had never experienced before I had met her. She is fiercely independent, but pretends to be dominated by me, a pretense that I can easily see right through. Instead, she adapts to a sexual situation, enhancing it for the both of us. With Aimee, making love is more like Thanksgiving: quiet and slow; tender and almost leisurely. She gave me her mind, and allowed me free access to her mind and her body. When our minds and bodies merged, we would react in ways that would drive us together more and more frantic, until the two of us reached climax after climax. Aimee was already nude, and we were sitting on a double chaise lounge in the atrium. I don't remember undoing my trousers, but it had only taken a moment for me to enter Aimee. She was already primed. Our minds had merged, and I knew that she was sharing the feelings in my body at the same time we were both sharing the feelings in her own tiny body. This was something that I have, up until this time, only experienced with Aimee--with the other girls, if I "entered" their mind, my presence would seem to leave my own body. This is the reason that Aimee and I referred to this closeness as "sharing." Together, we worked as a perfectly functioning team; not rushing, but not too slowly, either. Aimee's body fit mine like a glove; and now, we were indeed conjoined in a way we hadn't felt before. Every movement we made was like the perfect precision of a Mozart symphony. Our bodies moved as one, as if we were both part of a sophisticated and well-tuned machine. I wish words could describe the intimate coupling that Aimee and I shared that morning; it was about as momentous as when I had awakened from my coma. Aimee's mind was totally opened to me, and I found myself seeing bits and pieces of her life. For the first time, I saw Debbie's father, James Malen, sitting in his office with an unlit cigar in his mouth. I saw Aimee's mother, and her mother's sister that had passed away when Aimee was just ten years old. I knew that Aimee was probably seeing bits and pieces of my own life as well. The feeling that we shared... the word "joy" seems to describe it perfectly. We felt joy in being inside each other and with each other, mentally and physically. Interestingly, although we approached orgasm, we didn't achieve it immediately; somehow we knew that it wasn't the point. We continued sharing ourselves with each other. This must have lasted close to an hour. I was no longer thrusting within Aimee, we were simply holding each other. Our faces were locked together in a kiss, and our arms were holding each other's bodies close. As if on a cue, I started slowly moving my hips once more. My cock moved out and back into Aimee's quim. My eyes opened, and hers did as well at the same time. We were both looking at each other from both points of view simultaneously. The effect can only be described to somebody that hasn't experienced it as similar to looking for the first time into a kaleidoscope--it can be very disorienting, but the effect is magical. Orgasm was approaching quickly now, and my body moved faster. Aimee's body responded in kind, and she started her low moaning. I felt her orgasm approaching, and mine wasn't long in coming either. I continued to move at a constant pace, in and out, and Aimee's moan got louder. Finally, my own orgasm erupted, and I felt my seed shoot into her body. We continued, and Aimee's orgasm started, apparently triggered by mine. I continued to thrust until I felt Aimee's hands on my backside, slowing me down. I was still kissing Aimee, and she had reopened her eyes after the rapture of her orgasm. By some unspoken agreement, we continued to kiss. Our minds left each other's. My eyes closed. I must have fell back asleep. I woke up a while later, and saw that Aimee was still underneath me, her lips still on mine, but she was also asleep. I tried to move off Aimee without disturbing her, but failed. As soon as my flaccid penis pulled out of her, she woke up. I had already broken our kiss, but moved back down to kiss her again. She returned the kiss, and I felt her tongue touch my lips. I playfully touched her tongue, and finally gathered the strength to pull myself up and out of the chaise lounge. "Wow," Aimee said, breathless. I looked at her and we both laughed heartily. That one word pretty much summed it up! Aimee brought me upstairs and showed me where my luggage had been stored. "There wasn't any doubt, Jim. This is the Master bedroom, and as such, belongs to our master!" She took me to the Orchid room, and helped me pick out a pair of white khaki pants and a Hawaiian shirt. Aimee walked into a closet and came out wearing a muumuu that matched the print on my shirt exactly. "June and Mely are downstairs in their apartments, but they won't be any problem," Aimee informed me. "I guess I'm to sleep in this room, huh?" I asked. Aimee nodded, her face looking for approval in mine. "Where do you sleep?" I asked. "In here, if you want me to. I selected Sunrise as my room when I feel like being alone." "That's nice. Where do I go when I want to be alone?" I asked. "Lime's not taken yet," Aimee said, seriously. "Well, I have a feeling that my dance card is going to be full for the next few days. I may be looking forward to Lime pretty soon." I was only half joking. I was thinking that another lovemaking bout like the one I just experienced with Aimee would give any human being a heart attack. Aimee simply gave me one of her infrequent smiles. I sighed. I knew that everything was right with the world. ------- Debbie and Mary arrived later on with some purchases, mostly clothing, but also some perfume that Debbie picked out for Mary. June and Mely showed up from their rooms after Debbie got back, and bid good-bye to their boss. They were going to spend the next couple of weeks at some resort that Debbie had arranged for them on Waikiki Beach. I wondered what it was like working for Debbie. So far, in the couple of weeks that I met them, June and Mely only worked perhaps a few hours, and stayed overnight in a luxurious mansion. After that, Debbie gives them free vacations in paradise. I knew that I could probably probe their minds to find out for myself, but I had decided that I really didn't want to intrude on their privacy. I turned down one of Aimee's great margaritas, since I wasn't much of a drinker, but the other three girls had them, Aimee pouring them from a pitcher filled with ice and the green nectar. I was a bit disappointed that I had turned it down, it looked so refreshing. Still, I had to admit to myself that I had been sleeping a lot recently, and I didn't want alcohol to knock me out even more. Aimee had spent an hour or so cooking a simple dinner of chunks of pork marinated in teriyaki, mixed ("stir fried," according to Aimee) with fruits and vegetables and served with something that looked like a purple pudding. "What is that?" I asked, indicating the pudding. Debbie smirked at me, but Mary also seemed curious. "Have you heard of taro root?" asked Aimee. "Heard of it?" I repeated. "Yes. I don't think I've ever had it, though." "I think I've seen taro root used in cooking," offered Mary. "Well, the lehua taro is only grown on Hawaii, and it is from that root we make poi," Aimee explained. "Poi is a Hawaiian 'delicacy, '" offered Debbie, emphasizing that last word in Debbie's way to making some subtle joke. Aimee simply looked at Debbie and shrugged. I looked a little suspiciously at the purple pudding. Mary didn't seem to know what to do. "It looks like a blueberry yogurt," I said. "You got the 'yogurt' part right," Debbie smirked, cryptically. I gave Debbie a look, and she stopped smirking. I thought about this poi. Aimee wasn't one to do me any harm. She was part Hawaiian, and seemed very proud of her Hawaiian heritage. Of course, she wanted to share this with us. Without any further thought, I took a little in my fork and tasted it. It was... different. Not bad. Just a little sweet, and a bit sour. Not overpowering at all. Mary took my cue and tried a bit herself. I looked up at Aimee and smiled. "I thought it might be fruitier, but this is not bad." "It's... different," said Mary, echoing my initial thought of the food. Debbie ate a spoonful of hers without comment. Aimee beamed at Mary's and my reactions. "In ancient times, the Hawaiians believed that humanity descended from the taro plant. So, it's sort of a sacred food. Most truly Hawaiian meals usually include it, like the Chinese would include rice, or you would use mashed potatoes on the mainland. The older people claim that it has healing powers." I had to agree with Aimee, and tried it again, this time with some of her pork. It actually accompanied the food very well. Aimee saw my reaction and smiled. "For most tourists, it does take a bit of getting used to." "Yes," Debbie agreed, this time without any sarcasm. We all managed to finish our food. Aimee was an excellent cook. For dessert, Aimee had chopped an entire fresh pineapple, cutting it into small chunks, which the four of us at ravenously. After supper, fatigue hit me hard, despite the fact that I had avoided the alcoholic beverages. I was still tired, and this was starting to worry me. I had done quite a lot of sleeping over the last day or so. Was anything wrong with me? Without saying a word, Aimee looked at me, and got up, and escorted me upstairs to the Lime room. The bed was already turned down. I plopped down on the bed, and was startled when the mattress started moving... it was one of those water beds. Laying down on it was a weird sensation to me, and I could smell the vinyl of the mattress, a disconcerting smell in bed. Nonetheless, I fell quickly asleep. ------- There was a face of a man haunting me. It was strangely familiar... yet... it was difficult to make out the features properly. I could easily see his smile, more like a sneer. Who was this man? Why was he haunting my dreams? Once again, I tried to focus on his face, but it remained elusive. What was happening here? I felt something soft touch my cheek. I reached up my hand, and felt something warm. I opened my eyes, and saw my three wives standing next to the bed, at my side. "Jim, Mary could feel your discomfort," Aimee said, quietly. Ah, shit! Had I been screaming again? Aimee must have seen the question in my eyes. "No, Jim. You weren't screaming. Your mind was definitely in distress, however." I looked at Aimee's face for a minute or two. I noticed that I could just make out her features in the darkness of my room. "Yes, Aimee," I finally said. "I was having that bad dream again." "Do you want to talk about it?" I shook my head. "I... I want to be alone..." Mary and Debbie took the hint, reluctantly. Aimee didn't. I sighed, and then rolled towards the middle of the bed, making Aimee an offer to sit down. She did so. I knew Aimee wanted to know more. "I don't know what to say. I keep seeing this face... only I'm not really seeing it. It's a man. I know that much for sure. He has this really evil smile..." "You obviously don't know who this man is," Aimee said. It wasn't a question. "No, I don't." "For some reason, your mind was uneasy over this person." Again, it was just a statement. "Yes. Something about that person was... wrong," I said, unable to really put it into words. "Can you picture him in your mind now?" Aimee asked. Interesting question. I tried to conjure up the image of that weird man, and utterly failed. I could, however, still see his smile. "Not really... just his smile," I finally said. "Share with me," Aimee said. Somehow, I knew that Aimee was going to make that request, and no sooner did the words come out of her mouth than I had brought her mind into mine. I mentally tried to imagine that man haunting my dreams, and saw his smile. I felt Aimee's presence shudder, and I allowed her to leave. Aimee was staring at me. "That does not belong to a good man," she said. "I sort of got that idea myself," I said. "I know this room is your 'by yourself' room, Jim, but I ask you to let me sleep in here with you." I had no idea where the other girls were, now. Interestingly, the last time I had this bad dream, it was Mary that had sensed it, even though she had been miles away. Tonight, again, only Mary seemed to have sensed it. Wasn't Aimee more sensitive to this mind power than the other girls? I had thought that she might be even more sensitive than I was. This required some thought. My mind was drifting, and I hadn't answered Aimee. "Aimee, you are welcome to share my bed and my body at any time," I said softly. Aimee turned more toward me and said softly in return, "I would prefer to share your mind." This was weird. Aimee had pulled away when we had done just that a few moments ago. She wanted to "share our minds" again? I decided to make light of it. "You females. You are only interested in my mind!" I said, sarcastically. I couldn't see Aimee's face just then, but I knew... I just KNEW... that she was giving me one of her rare smiles. "Jim, what you need is somebody to hold you. I'm here, and I'll hold you all night." Such an offer from Aimee is worth more to me than being able to screw an entire cheerleading squad. "I'd love that, dear," I said, pulling her body closer to mine. Aimee was wearing a nightgown of some soft satiny material. She rotated her waist so she was on my left. She pushed her feet under the covers, and then rolled toward me. I felt her arms go around me, and I pulled her closer to me. "Would you mind if I kissed you, Aimee?" Aimee didn't answer, but emitted a contented sigh. We kissed. ------- I saw that face again. This time, however, I think I was waiting for it. I moved my presence outside my body, and was looking down onto the bed. Despite the fact that it was dark, I could easily see Aimee and me, still cuddled together. I moved back into my brain, and the face was gone. DAMMIT! I guess "leaving my mind" wasn't such a good idea. At least I had found a way to make the dream go away. Maybe I wouldn't need Aimee next to me every night. Not that it wasn't a bad idea... ! I moved my mind into Aimee's, and "whispered" to her, "I love you, Aimee" and quickly left. I didn't want to wake her up, but just let her know that I really appreciated all she was doing for me. I heard the faintest whisper come back into my mind. "I will love you forever, my beloved Master." I sighed. I couldn't go back to sleep immediately, though. I thought about the meaning of these dreams that I was having. Maybe it was some sort of psychotic episode. Maybe I really did need to see a psychiatrist. I put that idea on hold, however. Right now, Aimee was the perfect person to talk to: she knew (although may not understand) the strange things that were happening in my mind. She did have a gift of her own. Maybe the two of us could work this thing through. ------- I disengaged myself from Aimee's arms the next morning, and Aimee woke up immediately. I had found out that she was a very light sleeper, so trying to be discreet just wasn't in the cards. I had to use the toilet, so I quietly got out of bed, and went into the bathroom. I walked over to the bathroom door to get a towel for the shower, and noticed that Aimee was gone. I remembered that her room was "Sunrise," and had a thought to see if she was there. Maybe she wanted to shower together. I remembered she kind of enjoyed it when we showered together on our "wedding night." I knew that I could just "scan" to see where she was, and ask her in, but for some reason, my power was really starting to put me off. I instead showered alone, and thought about the repercussions of my power. On the one hand, it was my power that brought Mary, Debbie, and Aimee to me. I was also able to stop a misdemeanor in progress at the park. In addition, I had a totally mind-blowing experience with Aimee the previous day. On the other hand, I felt guilty invading the girls' privacy, even though Aimee had explicitly given me permission to enter her mind at any time. Even so, it still didn't seem right to me. I also found that I had a sense of paranoia that I never had before. That mysterious call from the VA to Mary's house, for example... it still spooked me, even if it was just a misunderstanding. Then there was this recurring dream. I had never had nightmares before. Of course, I had just gotten over a twelve year coma, and that might give nightmares to anybody. What if the dream were somehow linked to my power? Somehow, I sensed that Aimee was also thinking along those lines of thought. ------- When I got out of my shower, I toweled off, and entered my room naked. Mary was sitting at the edge of the bed, dressed in a light green muumuu that matched the "Lime" motif of my room. I grinned at her; Mary is a wonderful sight to see at any time. I walked over and gave her a kiss. Mary returned the favor, with vigor. I noticed that she smelled different... a light fragrance of... orchids. It seemed to fit so well here in this tropical paradise. "You're a sight for sore eyes," I said after we broke our kiss. Mary moved her eyes down and stared at my member, giving it a look that she must have stole from Debbie. For once, my tin soldier wasn't rising to the occasion. I think that age and overuse finally caught up with it. I shrugged at Mary, and her eyes twinkled as her face curled up into a smile. "Well, if the little fella doesn't want to play, let's get him all dressed up," she said, and walked to the chest of drawers, and retrieved me a pair of boxers (my size, of course!), a pair of cream colored khakis, and a lime green Hawaiian shirt. Without saying a word, she started to dress me. Mary did a quick job, allowing me to put on my own socks, but insisting on dressing me otherwise. I didn't know where my shoes from the previous evening were, but Mary went to the armoire and found a pair of light colored slip-on shoes. As usual, they fit perfectly. "Where are Debbie and Aimee?" I asked Mary. "Oh, they're around somewhere," Mary answered. "Probably out on the beach, if I know Debbie. She's a bit of a tease. She took me to a nude beach... it's real close to here." "Aimee told me about that beach," I said. Mary nodded. "Aimee also said to tell you that she has made out a prescription for you." "Aimee? Prescription? Don't tell me she's a doctor!" I said. "No. I think she used the word as a joke," Mary replied. "Anyway, she wants the two of us to take some time off by ourselves." "By ourselves?" I asked. "The two of us, she said. Alone," Mary answered. I had been hoping to explore Hawaii, but had assumed it would be in the company of Aimee, whose pride in her home state was quite evident. I was a bit confused. "Debbie gave me a credit card," Mary explained. "It has a rather large line of credit on it, I think. We can take the rental car that Mely and June left in the front, and drive it anywhere on Maui. We can also return the car at the rental place, find transportation to one of the other islands, rent a room, take a cruise..." I smiled and sung, "A three hour tour..." from an old sitcom. Mary laughed, and then continued. "Anyway, we should see Hawaii as tourists, and just try to have fun." "Sounds like an idea," I said. "Why don't you meet me downstairs? I'll be down with you in a minute or so." Mary looked at me strangely, but smiled and obeyed. I waited for Mary to leave, and then scanned for Aimee and found her swimming at a beach. "Hi, Jim," Aimee said cheerfully as I entered her mind. Aimee was nude and in the blue-green water. Through her eyes, I could see Debbie laying out on a towel in her topless glory. There were other people, but Debbie was the only person that really counted to my way of thinking. "Aimee, Mary told me that you want us to tour the islands by ourselves," I projected into Aimee's mind. "Yes. I want you to have a good time, and I want you to try to behave normally," she answered. "Behave? Normally? What are you talking about?" I asked. "Jim, it seems that whenever you use your mental powers a lot, that is when you have those bad dreams. Go easy on yourself, allow your brain muscles to relax." "But..." "Jim, we had a fantastic experience yesterday," she said, referring to our sharing of our minds. "Afterward, that night, you had that bad dream... twice." Twice? Aimee knew about the second time? "Alright..." I said, not knowing how to respond. "So, relax. Have fun... there are lots of things to do around here. Mary loves you; you love Mary. Oh... and one more thing..." I waited for Aimee to continue. "Debbie and I have arranged for you to pick up a replacement driver's license in Kahalui. There's a map and an address in the rental car. That will allow you to drive if you feel like it." Aimee was so damn efficient. "Thank you for the compliment, Master." Again, I realized that I needed to watch what I think, and then laughed at myself. Aimee joined me. "Replacement?" I asked, realizing what she had said. "Yes. The director is an old family friend. He will waive the fact that your old license is out of date due to the fact you were in a coma. You still need to pass a 30-question exam." "Aimee, you continue to amaze me," I said. "Jim, I know that talking with me this way may seem convenient, but I'd really like you to not exercise your powers for the next day or two. Or, at least, tone it down." Aimee's advice seemed logical. "Aimee, you know I love you. Give my love to Debbie." "I will, Jim, and give Mary my love," Aimee replied. I left her. After deciding that Aimee's advice made a lot of sense, I went downstairs, and found Mary waiting for me. Mary and I decided to paint the islands red. ------- Chapter 11 "How Can You Run When You Know?" I won't bore you with too many details of the island hopping that Mary and I did, except to say that we lived the full tourist life to the hilt. I visited the Maui D.M.V. and found that there was indeed a "replacement" license waiting for me (after a written test and an eye exam). I wasn't sure about driving, since it had been a very long time since I had actually driven a car, but it was nice to have the license (Debbie's and Aimee's little shack in Makena was listed as my address). We stayed overnight at a resort hotel, courtesy of Debbie's credit card. Mary and I made love that night as well. It actually felt a little strange; it was the first time since I came out of my coma that I had made love with a woman without being inside her head. Mary and I quickly adjusted, though, and our love was just about as passionate as ever. The next morning, Mary and I took a sunrise excursion to Mt. Haleakala, the famous "House of the Sun." We spent the rest of the day just lounging around at our hotel. The day after, we took an inter-island flight to Oahu, where Mary and I visited Old Honolulu, and looked at the Arizona Memorial and Battleship Missouri at Pearl Harbor. Even though neither of us served in the Navy, the memorial tugged our heart strings as we thought about the attack that brought our country into World War II. Mary and I also spent a day on Waikiki Beach, but as I wasn't an avid swimmer, we went back to tour the shops in Honolulu. I was able to use our time alone to talk some things over with Mary. I asked her about the ethics involved in my "scanning" for the girls. Mary was a bit surprised at my hesitation, since she had just assumed that since I could do it, that I probably did it all the time. Mary was a fellow officer, and quickly came to see my point of view. I found her ideas comforting. She decided that it was a good thing that I ask for permission before "invading the privacy of the others." She also was unhesitant in giving me permission to scan for her any time and for any reason. "I have few secrets from you, Jim," she said, all seriousness in her eyes. At night time, Mary and I would talk to Debbie and Aimee by phone at prearranged times scheduled thoughtfully by Aimee, who seemed to know the kinds of sights we were interested in, even making some good suggestions for nice places to visit. All in all, it was a very relaxing week. Mary and I also continued to make love every evening, and sometimes even in the morning. Aimee was right about one thing... my bad dreams had stopped. ------- After about a week, I found that I was looking forward to talking with Debbie and Aimee on the phone. Despite being in paradise, I found those calls the highlights of my days. I discussed this with Mary, who also felt the same way. Mary and I had decided to head back to Maui to the shack, and when we told Aimee, she hesitated. "What's up, Aimee?" I asked, knowing that the voice I was hearing on the other end of the phone wasn't the down-to-business person that we knew Aimee to be. "I think it might be best if we meet you at the airport in Oahu. I've already called back Mely and June, and they will be able to depart the islands tonight," Aimee said. This was an abrupt change in plans. "Tonight? We were going to take an excursion tomorrow..." I said. Aimee interrupted me, again, completely out of character. "Please trust me, Captain." I knew that when Aimee addressed me by rank, she was trying to tell me something. I didn't know what it was, and Aimee's not answering me directly indicated that either I wasn't supposed to know something, or that she wasn't able to say something for some reason. I decided to trust her. "Alright, Aimee. Is there anything you need from us?" I asked. I could hear Aimee pause on the other end, and then she said, "I'll take care of everything, Jim. June will call you to arrange when and where we will meet." Mary knew by my tone that something was up. She looked concerned. I put my finger to my lips to keep her quiet while I was on the phone and she nodded. "OK, Aimee. See you later," I said. I hung up the phone. "What's happening, Jim?" Mary asked. "Our trip to Hawaii is being cut short. Aimee didn't say why, but just for us to trust her," I answered. "Of course we trust her," Mary said, looking me in the eye. "She also referred to me as 'Captain.' Something is up, and I think she was trying to give me a clue." "The military?" asked Mary. I shrugged. "Perhaps. We'll be meeting Mely and June at Honolulu International tonight." "I figured that much," Mary said. The two of us were a bit nervous. June called an hour later, and told me when and where she would meet Mary and I at the airport. Mary and I showed up at the exact time and location specified and found June waiting for us. She escorted us to Debbie's jet. Aimee and Debbie were already on board, and Mary and I hugged the two of them when we arrived. Aimee still didn't seem to want to answer the questions that she knew were bothering Mary and I, and I let her take her time. We were up in the air around midnight. After we were aloft, Debbie approached where Mary and I were sitting together. "I'm sorry to cut your vacation short, Master, but..." She paused. Finally, Mary couldn't take it. "But... ?" she prodded. "Somehow, somebody is doing some checking up on you," Debbie finally said. "How do you know?" I asked. Aimee went on to describe how some of her sources have recently been asked questions regarding Debbie and her, and some of those questions involved whether or not they knew a certain Jim Montgomery. This was very interesting, because until now, I didn't know that any agency that would be interested in tracking me would have connected me to Debbie or Aimee. If I thought I was paranoid, Debbie and Aimee actually managed to outdo me, mostly because the "state of the art" (as Aimee worded it) in intelligence gathering had improved quite a bit in the time that I had been out of the picture. Back in the days that I remember, computers were these big, impersonal things that people used to blame when you got some outrageous error in your phone or electrical bill. Nowadays, "personal computers" could be had by just about anybody for as little as a couple thousand dollars... which in itself was totally mind-blowing (my words!). Aimee also explained that with the current almost ubiquity of these little machines, businesses were buying them left and right, totally redefining the way the world does business. For instance, take credit cards. I had one back in the 1970s, before Uncle Sugar had started to take care of my day to day needs. When I had one, you'd show it at a cash register, and the clerk would make a carbon impression of your card, and at the end of the day (or week), the store would mail copies of the transaction to the banks, which would eventually show up as a bill on my monthly statement. In the past week, I noticed that when Mary would show her credit card for a hotel room or meal at a restaurant, the card would most likely be "swiped" into the cash register itself (now called a "point of sale" device, since it had more intelligence than those simple calculating machines of the past), which would send the contents of the transaction over a telephone line to a bank immediately. In other words, information, especially information that can be found or stored on a computer, travels fast nowadays. Every room that Mary and I stayed at in Hawaii; every restaurant that we paid for by credit card; every dress that Mary purchased; these could all be tracked by the bank that underwrote the credit card. There are "credit bureaus" that consolidated information between banks that issued different credit cards... making it possible for quite a dossier to be put together on a person quite easily. That was just credit cards. Hotel chains had computers, too. As did restaurants and other places. There was no end of places that could have a record of you somewhere. I nodded as the girls explained this to me. Mary was extremely knowledgeable about this, which I attributed to be because she had some experience with the military, as well has having worked at a department store and a bank. Although such "intelligence" about people is easy to obtain, it is rare that people are isolated, unless there is a reason for a person to be investigated. Aimee knew that Debbie's finances were on the up and up, and that any such investigation over her expenditures would be quickly seen as uninteresting. However, what alerted Aimee about this was the mention of my name. Aimee explained it like this. "If you had anything like a credit card that could track you down, it probably expired a decade ago. You have a bank account, but since you've been living with Mary and us, I don't recall you using any credit cards or doing any bank transactions," Aimee explained. Aimee's explanation first struck me as if she were accusing me of sponging off of Mary or Debbie... and then it hit me. It was true--either Mary, or more likely Debbie, had been paying for just about everything... how would anybody looking at Mary's or Debbie's credit cards be able to cross reference either of them with me? My jaw dropped. Apparently, Mary got what Aimee was saying at the same time. "That's right, Aimee!" Mary said. "Unless people were following any of us, how could they associate the four of us?" Aimee just nodded. "I'm glad you understand the reason that I was concerned. I have to surmise that somebody has been investigating one or more of us. And..." I knew where she was headed. "Since I have this mind power or whatever, you think it might be the reason for somebody to take an interest in me, right?" Aimee nodded, as did Debbie, with whom Aimee already had apparently discussed these things. Mary agreed. "You're right. We have to suppose it is you that they are after. If it is me... or Aimee or Debbie, then we'd really have nothing to worry about. However, if somebody is following you, then we should be very worried." "Right," Aimee said. "We should be prepared for the worst." My mind was in a whirl. I had never really discussed that mysterious call from the VA that I received a while back. I figured that now was the time. "Um, girls... I think we have more to fear," I said. The three girls listened to me as I described that weird call from the VA. Mary and Debbie had worried looks as this dovetailed with Aimee's revelation about us being under investigation. Aimee, on the other hand, simply nodded. "I think that it was good that I immediately assumed that you were the target, Jim. If the VA had information linking you with Mary, and Mary was recently using a Malen Associates credit card, then that could identify how the link between the four of us was made. It also makes it almost likely that somebody in the military is involved." "So, what do we do?" I asked. Aimee smiled. As I said, she smiled rarely. Her look told me that she knew what she was doing, and immediately my nerves were soothed. "Well, we're headed out to Utah, as it was the safest place to go. We know that somebody is out there, and that somebody is interested in you." I considered this, and Aimee continued. "It's not like we're without resources, Jim." "What do you mean?" I asked. "We've got computers, too!" Aimee said. Computers? We did? "We do?" Aimee looked at me, still smiling. "Sure we do! At the ranch!" I considered this, and then remembered that Debbie had one of her properties in Utah, and that she had visited there recently. Aimee and Debbie both referred to that place as "the ranch." I nodded at Aimee. "It sounds like you have everything figured out," I told Aimee. "Not figured out, but at least we have some idea of what we need to do next," Aimee said. ------- Aimee's choice of Utah was a good one. Debbie had some property about an hour outside of Salt Lake City, and it was quite secluded. It was near a wildlife preserve called Fish Springs. After we landed, Mely refueled and then flew off with June on to Texas, the site of another one of Debbie's properties. Debbie, Mary, and I took a "courtesy limo" offered by an expensive hotel and arranged for a suite. Aimee took a cab to Salt Lake City where she rented her own hotel room and would eventually meet the three of us when she obtained transportation. It only took Debbie, Mary, and I about ten minutes to get from the airport to the Sheraton, thanks to the "shuttle," which was a miniature van that was used exclusively for ferrying people between the airport and the hotel. I had another one of my "Rip Van Winkle" moments in the spacious vehicle; Mary seemed to pick up on my feelings and just held me close. When we got to the hotel, Debbie booked us two rooms next to one another, and paid cash using the last name Penet--her father's business associate. The three of us were exhausted from the trip, having started late at night, and arriving in the morning. Mary insisted that Debbie and I take a room together, arguing that Mary just had me to herself for a week or so and it was Debbie's turn. Debbie didn't give Mary any arguments at all, giving me a sneer that told me that there would probably be little of me left after she got through with me that night. We spent a quiet day in the hotel, and I took a nap. When I woke up later, I saw a wet bathing suit hanging out on one of the chairs in my room. It occurred to me that I had never seen Debbie in a bathing suit! The three of us ate a quiet supper in the hotel restaurant, and I couldn't help but keep on looking around to see if anybody was following me, or paying more than a reasonable amount of attention to us. Mary and Debbie both caught me doing this, and I tried to calm myself down and relax. There was no need to get them any more worried than they were already. After dinner, I bade goodnight to Mary, and kissed her as she entered her room. Mary hugged me tightly and said softly, "I love you, Jim." "I love you, too, Mary. I have the utmost faith in all my girls. We'll pull through this, you'll see." "I hope you're right," Mary said. I turned to Mary and saw a single tear escape down her left cheek. Before I could say anything, Mary hurried into her room and closed the door. I looked at Debbie and knew immediately that she had seen Mary's reaction. No words were spoken as Debbie and I entered our own room, but once the door was closed, Debbie hugged me, too. "Jim, I know Mary is worried, but I happen to know how resourceful Aimee is. If anybody can get on top of this, she can." Debbie's statement took me a little by surprise. I knew that she respected Aimee quite a bit, but this statement of faith in her astonished me still. "You really think so, Debbie?" I asked. "I know so. You, Jim, should know even better than I do, being that you have been in her mind." I looked at Debbie, feeling a bit guilty of the amazing closeness that Aimee and I had achieved while we were in the "little shack." There wasn't anything accusatory in Debbie's eyes; maybe she didn't know--or maybe it didn't bother her. I finally answered Debbie. "Yes, I have been in her mind, and yes, she is a very resourceful person. I trust her, and all of you, implicitly." Debbie hugged me tight. "Could you go into Mary's mind and tell her not to worry?" Again, Debbie surprised me with that request. "Do you think it is right that I go into her mind uninvited?" I asked Debbie, wondering how she would answer. "You know that you are never uninvited in any of our minds," Debbie answered. "Aimee recently told me to take some time off doing that," I replied. "It is for Mary's own good," Debbie said. "Let me think about it, Debbie," I finally replied. "Thank you," Debbie said, kissing me on the lips. We kissed for a few moments, and Debbie broke it off, and added, softly, "Master." I watched Debbie walk away from me and enter the bathroom. I knew that Mary had explicitly given permission to enter her mind, but would it be right to command her to stop worrying? O.C.S. had taught me a long while ago that fear wasn't always something to be avoided; it was a useful emotion. I had never really had a command of my own, but I never had any reason to doubt those things that I had been taught. There were many aphorisms about fear that I had learned, such as "Fear is not something to be avoided, it is to be embraced. It is to be sought after and destroyed!" I also knew that there were times when fear was useful. That is, of course, unless that fear turns you into a mindless jellyfish. That is always the problem, and THAT was something to avoid and even be destroyed. I never asked Mary if she went to O.C.S. I think she had told me that she was in R.O.T.C. during college, which would account for her Lieutenant's bar. I wondered how much alike O.C.S. and R.O.T.C. were. Suddenly, I decided that Debbie was partially right. She loved Mary like a sister, and didn't want Mary to worry about something we don't even know anything about. I smiled, and made the connection to Mary. She was in the bathroom, about to take a shower. "Hey there, good lookin'!" I projected into her mind, playfully. Mary immediately looked into the mirror, as if she could see me. The effect was that through her eyes, I was able to see her; I don't know if she did this as a favor to me. "Is something wrong?" she asked. "No. Debbie wanted me to tell you not to worry," I answered, truthfully. "I am a little worried, but I'm not paralyzed with fear," Mary answered. I smiled, and somehow projected my humor into Mary's mind. "I know, Gorgeous. I just wanted to pass along the message." "Tell Debbie that I'll be alright," Mary said to me in her mind. "I will. Thanks." I disconnected from Mary. Then something just hit me. What I just "said" to Mary gave me pause. Why did I call her "Gorgeous?" I wasn't one to use cute names like that, except in the case where a girl really wanted to hear that sort of thing. Mary was not such a girl, actually. Then I got the biggest jolt: "Gorgeous" wasn't a name anybody ever called Mary. It was Debbie's father's name for Debbie when she was a child! How did I know that? It came to me that I must have gotten that from Debbie when I had been in her mind once. It occurred to me right then that I had an answer to a question that Aimee had asked me before she joined our little family: I was able to get thoughts and ideas from the girls even when I wasn't looking for them. Then another, more important thought, finally hit me: Debbie was a lot more worried than she had let on. She wanted ME to tell HER not to worry! I headed toward the bathroom, and stopped. I projected myself into Debbie's mind. "Everything will be all right," I assured Debbie. Debbie was surprised to feel me in her mind, not having felt anything when I entered. Despite that, she projected loving warmth towards me, and said, "Thank you, Jim." There wasn't the slightest hesitation when she called me by name. ------- My last two sexual partners while I was in Hawaii had been Mary and Aimee, both of whom seem to prefer tenderness while making love. Debbie, on the other hand, liked to have fun. I guess I had been neglecting her, but knowing Debbie, I don't have any illusions that she had gone unfulfilled during my absence, although who she spent her time with when I wasn't around wasn't really my business at all. As I had been expecting a raucous good time with Debbie, it surprised me a little when I found that she mostly just wanted to hug and cuddle with me. I didn't mind this one bit. I love it when we experiment with and on each other, but I also love the intimacy of just holding a woman that I loved so much as well. Without using mind powers, kissing seems to me to be one of the most intimate experiences between two people. Debbie's hugs got harder and harder as we pressed our nude bodies together. Without even entering her mind, I knew that Debbie was feeling afraid... she was holding me as if she were trying to protect a baby from some unseen danger. I returned her hugs and kisses with good measure, and after about a half hour, Debbie finally went to sleep. I drifted off a little while later as well. It turned out that I shared Debbie's dream with her. Our bodies were still close together, but we weren't pulling ourselves together. When I started to dream, it had the "other worldly" sensation that my out of body experiences during my coma had, like when I shared Mary's dreams. Debbie was a little girl in her dream, about nine or ten years old. She was riding in a car with her parents (I could "hear" her refer to them as such); she was in the back, and her parents were in the front with her father driving. I felt oddly out of place in this dream, especially as my point of view was Debbie's--as a twelve year old girl. I considered leaving, but something made me stay. The family soon arrived at an amusement park somewhere in New England, and the family seemed to have fun riding the merry-go-round and the bumper cars (which seemed to be Debbie's favorite attraction). While experiencing this dream, I was startled as to how many of Debbie's senses I was able to discern. One would expect hearing and sight (this dream was in color, by the way--I remember somebody telling me long ago that most people dream in black and white), but I could also smell the cotton candy, hot dogs, stale popcorn, and even the oily-ozone smell of the bumper cars! I could also feel the centrifugal force as Debbie rode on the "Alpine Bobsleds" ride. The dream went by quickly, but I could tell that I was experiencing something that Debbie had experienced in an entire fun-filled day when she was younger... all compressed into about twenty minutes. Then, without warning, the dream seemed to linger. Things seemed to just freeze... stopped in mid-motion. It was as if I was alive in the middle of an oil painting. I could look around, but nothing was moving. I could see the back of Debbie's mother's head, and if I turned, I could see Debbie's father as he held Debbie's hand. Somehow, I "knew" that Debbie's dream was over... but it wasn't. Although she was no longer dreaming this, I was! I turned to look at Debbie's father again, and was surprised when his lips curled into a smile. I woke up with a start. Thankfully, Debbie was a sound sleeper and didn't get aroused by my sudden movement. It took me an hour more before I could actually get back to sleep, and even then, I only slept fitfully. As soon as my mind would realize that I was experiencing a dream, I'd wake up with a start. It wasn't an easy night for me. ------- I finally got up about six in the morning, and immediately left the bed. I was glad that the Sheraton had a coffeemaker in the room and I started a pot. There was enough for four cups of coffee, and I made them all. I think the smell of coffee woke Debbie up. She stretched her nude body out on the bed, and I actually heard some of her bones make a cracking sound as she worked out the kinks in her joints. "Breakfast in bed?" Debbie asked me, sleepily. "I only have coffee, but if that suits you..." "Coffee smells good," Debbie said, closing her eyes in a sigh. Then she looked at the clock on the night stand and noticed the time. "Six fifteen?" "Yeah. Sleep wasn't easy," I said. "You can have my coffee if you want, Jim." "There's enough for four cups. We can raid Mary's room if we need more," I said with a smile. Debbie smiled back. I set down two cups of coffee on the nightstand for myself and Debbie. We both picked them up and sipped. It was a bit hot, having just come out of the coffee unit, but the caffeine was what I really needed. I did a quick scan to find Aimee. She was in a Holiday Inn in Salt Lake City, having obtained a car the previous night. She was up as well and already in the shower. "Aimee... we're at the Sheraton near the airport. Meet us at the entrance in twenty minutes." Aimee seemed a bit surprised at my "appearance" but answered, "Yes, Jim. Anything wrong?" "Not really, but I think that the sooner we're at Debbie's ranch, the better." "OK." she answered dutifully. She reached to turn off the water as I departed her head. I did a similar scan for Mary, who was still sleeping in her own room next door. I got her to wake up and be outside the lobby as soon as possible. Debbie watched me (I had often wondered how I physically appeared when I was doing these little "visits" elsewhere) and somehow knew that I had contacted Mary and Aimee. "What's up, Jim?" she asked. "I'm not sure, but I think it's best if we move out soonest." "Well, our trail should be a bit colder than it was a couple of days ago..." Debbie started. I interrupted her. "Yeah. It is probably a good idea not to take any chances. Let's meet outside in fifteen minutes." Debbie just nodded, and got up, bringing her cup of coffee into the bathroom. ------- Chapter 12 "I'm not one of those who can easily hide..." I'm not sure how long it took for Aimee to drive the four of us to Debbie's ranch. I sat in the back, laying on Mary's lap and closed my eyes. I let the girls think that I was asleep, but I was really just trying to work out the situation in my mind. Somebody was interested in us--probably interested in me. The "why" was understandable; I had this mind power. The interesting question was, how did they know about it? There were a number of possible answers to that question. One answer was one or more of us did something that may have given us away. Another answer was that whatever happened that had given me this power was by design; it could very well be that somebody may have known about it even before I became aware of it! Yet another possibility was that one of my lovelies, or one of Debbie's assistants may, in fact, be working for somebody else. Part of that last possibility I really had to reject. I had been inside the minds of Mary, Debbie, and Aimee... with (and, I had to admit, without) their permission. Not one of them had given me any reason not to trust them completely. When I first met Debbie's employees, I had a fleeting desire to scan their minds. At the time, I had rationalized that desire as being similar to with Aimee's "are these good people?" feelings. However, that justification fell apart even as I thought it; it just didn't ring true. There was also the realization that I haven't yet figured out how Mary's and Debbie's "binding" to me had occurred and I had no desire to expand my harem. I thought about Debbie's two other employees that I had met. June was cute, probably the image that comes into your mind when you hear the Beach Boys singing about California girls. She was tall, skinny, dirty blonde--almost brown--haired with one blue and one green eye. Her breasts were a bit on the smallish side, compared to Mary or Debbie--about the same size as Aimee's, come to think of it. I found out from talking to June that she fit the Beach Boys' image in at least one other way: she loved driving cars fast! June was professional enough that she didn't do any unnecessary speeding when she chauffeured Debbie around, but one of her pastimes was to race cars and motorbikes on race tracks. Mely, Debbie's jet pilot, didn't strike me as cute at first. She was short, like Aimee, only five feet tall, give or take an inch. She had brown eyes, and larger breasts than Aimee (at least, they looked large on her small frame). Mely had a boy friend that she has been seeing for a few years, and I was told that she had been looking to marry him sometime in the future. Thinking about Debbie's employees made me reject them as possible spies. If they were, Aimee should have definitely been able to tell, right? To tell the truth, even if somebody had "planted" this ability into me, how would they have known that I would eventually meet Debbie? Debbie, after all, was the wild card--who could have predicted that she would have become susceptible to what I had to assume was to a brain probe during a love session with Mary? She seemed to have been an innocent bystander that I seem to have connected to at the time, and she's been with me ever since. June and Mely had been working for Debbie almost as long as Aimee had--it would have been one hell of a coincidence that any of Debbie's employees could be spies. There were two other people that may have noticed something suspicious about me: the purse snatching kid and the policeman that apprehended him. The policeman had been suspicious about me at the time, although he seemed to soften after talking with Mary and Debbie. The fact remains that I had manipulated the minds of those two people; they might figure out that something abnormal was going on. For the first time since that happened, I thought about the park. At the time, when I realized that I had manipulated the minds of two males without having them become bonded to me, I felt as if a burden had been lifted. Now, thinking over the event, I wondered if I had done the proper thing. I had witnessed a crime in progress, and what I had done, I had done without thinking, not even suspecting that what I was doing had even been possible. Maybe I shouldn't have manipulated the policeman other than alerting him to the event (I had also tried to make him think of me as not being a threat), and if I had to do it all over again, maybe I should avoid making that mistake again. My only excuse is that my mind seemed to do this on its own--maybe it was some sort of defense mechanism. As it was, neither the pickpocket nor the policeman had any clue as to who I was. At least, I couldn't think of how either one could figure out my identity. Were there other people around when that scuffle happened? There was the victim, of course. She might have been amazed at how easy the purse snatcher had been caught, but I decided that the whole event had shaken her; I didn't see any reason why she would suspect that I had any special powers. Apart from the victim, I couldn't remember anybody else who saw what had happened. I mean, the park wasn't empty at the time. I vaguely remember the policeman's entrance sort of drew a crowd. If anybody else saw what happened, would they have been suspicious of me? I couldn't see any reason why, but I couldn't really discount the possibility. So, it was definitely possible that my own actions may have given me away. In thinking about the incident in the park, I realized that there was another thing I might be hesitant to repeat: my "suggestion" to the kid to join the military. It was a stray idea at the time; I've known quite a few people that were straightened out by basic training, and I had thought this might be a way to reform a social deviant. In retrospect, I realize now that if the military was interested in me, sending the kid to a recruiting office might be giving them access to somebody that I had manipulated! This was probably just paranoia, though: my experience with the military was that any part of it seldom had any idea what was happening anywhere else within it. I would have to give very long odds that somebody in the military would ever be able to associate that kid with me. That thought still nagged at me, however. Then there was one other possibility: that somebody knew about my power, maybe even before I knew about it. However, like associating the purse snatcher with me, I considered this to be another long shot. After all, with the exception of Aimee and me, who else would have such powers? Aimee talked about these powers almost mystically. How much credence would something as reality-based as the military give to such superstitions? I still realized that sometimes long shots did pay off. I couldn't simply ignore these things, but I also just couldn't let myself be bogged down worrying about things I couldn't control. Another uneasy thought had come to me: had there been some sort of experimental procedure done on me while I was in a coma? If so, who had done so, and why? The "why" part was easy, if the person or people responsible was trying to come up with a way to manipulate minds. Only a few years before I was hit by that jeep, the excesses of the government had been splashed over the papers. The American government had a long history with brainwashing, behavior modification, and psychedelic drug tests. However, these had ceased after they became public knowledge... or had they? It was easy to see that having a mind power like mine would probably be seen as a useful tool by the intelligence services, and also within the upper levels of the defense department. This was where the "who" question came in... and it scared me. Aimee must have thought much along the same paths as I, which is why she gave me that clue that it might be the military. How would I find out? I was not trained for intelligence gathering. I was trained as a soldier, and then had training with special operations. Of course, O.C.S. was there, but that was basically development of leadership skills, and military analysis. Intelligence was part of O.C.S., but only as a tool. I believed that Mary had mentioned on some occasion when I was recuperating in the hospital about being familiar with intelligence, but I figured that to mean she was as familiar as I was. I just couldn't picture my lovely Mary as that kind of an operative, but you never know. I was on a marine base that night, and the accident happened between two people who were based in the army. What were the odds of something like that accident happening to two people who were only supposed to be on the base for a very short period of time? I started thinking about the psychiatric debriefings at the hospital after I awoke. I wasn't a psychologist, but I may have revealed something during one or more of my sessions with the shrinks. I really hadn't known anything about my powers at the time, except that I didn't want to reveal the dreams that I had while I was in a coma. Shrinks are pretty shrewd; they may have noticed that something in my answers may not have been consistent, or that may have been evasive, and they may have suspected that I must have been hiding something. How would they get to the truth? What could I have said that might have given somebody a clue as to my powers, especially when I wasn't even conscious about them at the time? ------- As I was thinking about the hospital, I found myself back in one of the therapist's offices. I was amazed at the amount of detail that I was remembering, when it occurred to me that I wasn't remembering what I was seeing; I was actually seeing it! My presence had transported back into the shrink's office. The office was empty, and was much the way that I had remembered. However, something told me that something was subtly different than when I was there the last time. What was different? I looked at the walls and tried to think if anything had changed. For some reason, something within me told me that this was important. There were folders on the desk. I could see a name on the topmost one. It wasn't mine, of course. I had been discharged many weeks ago, and any files about me would have long ago been filed away. There was a phone, a calendar/blotter with some scribbles on it, a green desk lamp, a name plate, a pencil holder. Normal things found on a desk... Wait! The name plate. It read Marcus Andersen. That was wrong! The doctor that I had talked to was Dr. Farren. I looked around the office. There were no signs of somebody newly moved into the office. It looked well used. I looked back on the wall and saw Mr. Andersen's university diploma. There was a little dust on it. Looking very close at the wall, I could see that where the frame touched the wall was a barely discernible mark where the paint hadn't faded underneath the plaque. This diploma had been on the wall for some time. Most everything in this room was as I remembered it. Why did Dr. Farren use this office and not his own when he was interviewing me? Maybe Dr. Farren was just a visiting doctor who happened to get me on rotation from whatever hospitals he visits. Maybe somebody had sent Dr. Farren especially to interview me. That would indicate that somebody would have a reason to believe that there was something special about me. If that was true... then how long has somebody known that there was something special to investigate? Before I woke up? My mind boggled. This might be an important clue, but I couldn't see how this could be useful to Aimee or Debbie in trying to find out who was trying to investigate us. It did tell me something clear: I had reason to believe that whoever was following us was probably focused on me. This fit in with what the girls had told me. If whoever was involved could get in and out of a hospital without a problem, then Aimee's hunch that the military was involved was probably sound. I returned my presence back to my mind, and I woke up with a start. I hadn't realized that I had been sleeping, actually! I could feel Mary's fingers idly rubbing my hair. I opened my eyes and she was smiling at me. "Have a nice sleep?" she asked. "I always love waking up and seeing your lovely face," I said, intentionally not answering her question. Mary didn't seem to notice my subtle evasion and accepted the compliment with her cute dimples reappearing. A thought remained: How would I get to the bottom of what was going on? How much could we do out here in the middle of nowhere? I started to rise from Mary's lap, and she offered her hand to help me up. We were on a long, obviously private road. Debbie noticed me getting up and turned to look at me. "We're on the road that leads to the ranch." After a few minutes, Aimee pulled up to a rather nondescript ranch house. There was a pick-up truck that must have been old even before I went into a coma, parked haphazardly in the driveway. This was a marked contrast from the opulence of Debbie's "little shack" in Hawaii. Aimee parked the car in the driveway and told me she'd be back in a few minutes. While Aimee was gone, Debbie explained about her ranch. Despite the ranch house that I was looking at, the actual spread was quite large. There were two parts to it. The first and largest part was called the "working ranch" where there was a family (Debbie's tenants) that actually worked the ranch; the second part was a private domicile for Debbie and Aimee's use called "the cabin." Debbie's tenants were a family that raised livestock like horses and cattle and a few crops on the ranch. The tenants also maintained Debbie's cabin when Debbie wasn't around. Apparently, we were at the ranch house at the working ranch right now. Aimee was only inside the ranch house for a few minutes, and when she came back out, she was carrying a basket. "Andrea told me to give you these," Aimee said to Debbie as she got back into the rental car. Debbie looked into the basket. Inside there were about a dozen eggs, apparently freshly laid. I figured that we wouldn't have too much difficulty with breakfast. Aimee drove the car a mile or so down further down the road until she reached a closed gate. She left the car, and went to the left side of the gate, where there was some sort of an electrical box with a keypad within. She typed something and the gate opened. Aimee drove through the gate, and when Mary and I turned back, I saw that the gate was closing behind us. Debbie saw our actions and grinned. "This place is pretty private. Not as beautiful as what Aimee had done with the shack in Makena, and, I'm afraid, we only have two bedrooms..." "Four," corrected Aimee. "Four?" Debbie asked her assistant/co-wife, surprised. "You keep forgetting the guest house behind the kitchen," Aimee said with a smile. "Oh, yeah," said Debbie, looking a little flushed. I wondered what that was all about. Aimee answered my unasked question. "In most of Debbie's properties, she has places for her assistants to live. You could think of them like servants' quarters, except we really are employees, not servants. We just do our jobs, or lounge out at the guest house. If Debbie is going to be around for a while, she lets them go and explore the cities, towns, or whatever else can be found in the general area." "Debbie does this mostly for our privacy, as opposed to separation from the 'real guests' at the house. Although Debbie sometimes throws outrageous parties..." "Never in the cabin! I decided that this place is going to be for peace and quiet!" Debbie protested. "And," continued Aimee, unperturbed, "having separate quarters allows the three of us to get some sleep at a decent hour while Debbie and her boyfriends..." "I never brought boyfriends HERE," Debbie complained again. "... carouse the entire night," Aimee finished. The interaction between Aimee and Debbie was comical. It was as if Aimee and Debbie always acted this way... they seemed used to the give and take... and it had Mary and I laughing hysterically, taking our minds off the reason we were here in the first place. It occurred to me later that this was a sign that our relationship was starting to mature: Debbie and Aimee were once again being themselves, and seemed to have become more comfortable in our strange relationship. It must feel strange, I thought. Debbie had Aimee as an assistant and a confidante, and now Aimee was a co-wife. I wonder what Debbie thought about this, or if she had even considered this aspect to her relationship with me when she had insisted of me "marrying" Aimee. Anyway, once we passed the gate, it was another five minutes until Aimee pulled up to a large single storey structure. ------- Like Debbie's "shack" in Makena, the cabin that we went into had large rooms. The front door opened into a hallway with a large living room on the right. Unlike the shack in Hawaii, the cabin only had one floor. Aimee led us into the living room, which had three large sofas and an equal number of overstuffed reclining chairs. These were set up in a semi-circle, all focused on a rather large screen television set built into a cabinet that contained what appeared to be a bunch of stereo equipment underneath the screen. I had never seen such a large television screen before. I imagine that during my "absence" from the human race, TV sets naturally got larger, but the screen looked much different than the sets that I had remembered. For one thing, the screen wasn't shiny, but had tiny horizontal lines etched into the screen that sort of resembled corduroy fabric. Also, it was rather thin. I couldn't figure out how the picture tube fit within it. Debbie noticed my curiosity and picked up what looked like a calculator on a cocktail table and pushed a button. The television came to life, startling me. I looked from the television to Debbie and then knew that what I had assumed to be a calculator was actually a remote control. Debbie pushed a few more buttons, and the image on the television changed, showing some words superimposed on the top. The words changed quickly as Debbie continued to push buttons until I saw the words "CNN" and "FINANCIAL REPORT" on the top. There was now a newscast underneath the words. After about ten seconds, the words disappeared, and the newscast took over the full screen. The three girls were watching me intently, apparently used to my "Rip Van Winkle" reactions to modern technology. Aimee explained to me that I was looking at an entertainment center, with the large screen projection television as the focus. There was something called a "VCR" which could record broadcasts or play prerecorded movies. As Aimee explained, Mary asked Debbie if she had Star Wars on cassette. Debbie shrugged and said "Probably. Why?" "Jim never saw those movies. He's missed a lot. We saw 'The Natural' a couple of weeks ago at a second-run theater," Mary explained. "I'm not sure it's here at this ranch, but I figure that Aimee would probably have all the videos we have cataloged somewhere," Debbie shrugged. Aimee had, by this time, taken the remote control from Debbie and showed it to me, showing me how to turn the set on and off and how to change the channel. She explained that Debbie had a satellite dish on the property that was hooked into the entertainment center. While I was looking at the entertainment center, I looked to the right, and saw a few tables with smaller television sets on it. These sets were smaller than I remembered in the past. I idly wondered why Debbie would need so many television sets for; up until now, I hadn't even seen her watch TV before. Aimee saw where I was looking. "These are personal computers--PCs," Aimee explained. "You mean that Debbie uses those computers that you were telling me about?" I asked, amazed. "Well, Debbie owns them, but I'm usually the one using them," Aimee answered, smiling at her boss/co-wife. "I didn't know that you were a programmer," I said, having a bit more respect for Aimee. I knew a few programmers back in the service; nerdy guys for the most part, but sharp as a tack. "I don't program them, really. Unless you call 1-2-3 macros programming," Aimee said. "1-2-3" and "macros" sounded very much like the words that those programmers used. I smiled at her. "I can teach you, if you're interested," Aimee offered. I nodded in response. I noticed that Debbie and Mary had left the room. I figured that Debbie was taking her on a tour of the cabin. I felt a bit left out, but enjoyed having some time with Aimee. Aimee was over by the computers and had picked up a book. "This explains about 1-2-3, a spreadsheet program that I use on the computer. There are other programs, like Word Perfect, and I have some custom programs that were written just for Malen Associates, and I have gotten pretty good at using them. We can even send and receive e-mail." Most of Aimee's words were gibberish to me, so I smiled in response. Despite my attempt at hiding my confusion, Aimee seemed to know that she was speaking Greek to me. She smiled and said, "I think you'll pick up the jargon pretty quick. If you'll excuse a few more acronyms, we have a T1 line into the property." I was actually familiar with that term. "Aren't T1 lines used for sending television signals coast to coast?" I asked. Aimee smiled at the fact that I got that one right. "They used to be," she said. "They still do, I think. Now there is something called the 'Internet' which hooks up computers like these with big ones at universities and some companies all over the world. T1 lines are needed for the amount of information flowing through newsgroups, email, file transfer, and other stuff. I can send a 'buy' order to Malen Associates in just a few seconds from here without having to pick up a phone, although Debbie doesn't really play the markets. The T1 line was already here when we first visited this place, and I convinced Debbie that this would make a nice and quiet not-quite West Coast location for an office. We called the phone company and made sure the T1 was connected and a router installed." "Sounds convenient," I said, quite impressed. "It is. We have a flat-bed scanner so we can send images of documents as well. Our graphics manipulation program is proprietary, but it can import and export FAX documents easily enough." "If you say so," I said, laughing, having no idea what "FAX" was. Aimee's face dimpled as she laughed, herself, realizing how she must sound to a person that wasn't attuned to the lingo. I had the germ of an idea on how Aimee could teach me about computers, but filed that thought away for later as I continued to look around the room. Near the entertainment center was a wine rack holding a couple of dozen bottles of wine. I walked toward it and looked it over. Aimee saw what I was looking at, and told me that Debbie was quite fond of wine. She pulled out a couple of bottles for me to examine. I wasn't a sommelier, and wouldn't know a bottle of Burgundy from a bottle of Chablis, so I just gave an appreciative smile as Aimee showed me each one. Aimee noticed my reaction and just smiled. "I wasn't much of a wine expert before I met Mr. Malen," Aimee admitted to me, quietly. "He must have been a nice man," I said. Aimee just nodded, as if her thoughts were a thousand miles away. I thought about the wine, and then about Utah. Something had been nagging at me since I knew that our destination was Utah, and finally, the wine was the piece that fit: Utah was generally thought of as a place where liquor is frowned upon, mostly because a good portion of the population were part of the Mormon community. Now, that was the bit that struck me: Mormons! Didn't they have a history of polygamy? Of course, that practice is illegal today; I believed it was in a constitutional amendment or something like it that expressly prohibited it. I guess it was a word that describes my relationship to Mary, Debbie, and Aimee... Although it was strictly illegal, it was understood by some people that there were still some pockets of "fundamentalist" Mormons that had never given up the practice. These people lived quiet lives, never drawing too much attention to themselves. Perhaps Utah might be the best place for me and my "harem" to reside right now! Although, if whoever was interested in the four of us knew about our relationship, perhaps Utah might also be too obvious a place for us to hide. Aimee noticed that I had an odd expression on my face, and said, "Jim, is something wrong?" "Um, no, Aimee. I was just thinking... about wine... and liquor... and Utah... and Mormons... polygamy..." Aimee smiled. "Actually, I had suggested this ranch to Debbie for a similar reason. You see, I knew that Angus has both a wife and two previous wives living with him on the working ranch." "Angus?" I asked. For some reason, an image of a steer came into my brain. "He's living on the working ranch," Aimee repeated. "Oh. I remembered you mentioned the name Andrea before," I said. Then what Aimee said just before hit me. "Previous wives?" I asked. "Yes. Angus is technically a polygamist," Aimee explained. "From my understanding, Angus avoids the legal technicalities. When he wanted a second wife, he 'divorced' his current wife, and married the next. The first wife still lives with him. Angus did this twice." "Really?" I asked, amused. I always found it humorous when I hear how somebody was able to beat "the system." "I don't think Debbie knows Angus' relationship with the women living there. She knows that Andrea is his wife, but she's really his third wife. I never explained it to her because I didn't think it was pertinent. What he does in private..." "I can see that, Aimee," I said. "However, if Angus practices polygamy, then he'd be very disinclined to report us if he suspected our relationship..." "Which was exactly why I had suggested the ranch," Aimee said. "In addition, not very many of Debbie's properties are as connected as this one; we reconnected the communications lines when we were here last year, so it's useful for staying connected." I had a new respect for Aimee. I had to keep reminding myself that she was not only perceptive, but extremely intelligent... maybe even the most intelligent of the four of us. Aimee started to head for the kitchen, and then stopped and turned to me. "You know, Jim, you might want to talk with Andrea at the working ranch. You'll find her quite easy to talk to. She's the one that explained the relationships at the working ranch to me." I shrugged, wondering why Aimee suggested that. Did she want me to expand my harem even further? That was definitely not what I needed! Then again, Aimee was quite intelligent. She must have had some reason for making the suggestion. Aimee led me into the kitchen, where I saw the basket of eggs that Aimee received from the working ranch on a counter. At that same moment, Debbie and Mary entered as well. Mary gushed about the two bedrooms. They were both very large. Mary seemed excited about a piece of fruit in the room. "An apple in the bedroom? What's unusual about that?" I asked, confused. Mary looked at me for a second, and then burst out laughing. Aimee and Debbie joined her. I looked at the three of them as if they were completely nuts. "Sorry, Jim," Aimee said, having laughed the least. "The 'apple' that Mary was talking about was a Macintosh... it's a computer from a company called 'Apple.'" "Apple? You mean the company that the Beatles started?" I asked. Aimee shook her head. "Apple was started by two guys named Steve in a garage about ten years or so ago." Once again, I felt that Rip Van Winkle feeling going through me again. I knew that the girls weren't really laughing at me, but at my confusion. Apparently, this Apple company had been around long enough that they simply didn't realize that I had never heard of it. "What would anybody want with so many computers?" I asked, wishing to change the subject. Aimee explained that all the computers were connected with each other, and to something called NSFNET. Her explanations still confused me, the idea of "personal computers" (PC's) being quite foreign to me, but I was able to glean from her comments that Apple's computers, for some reason, were never referred to as PC's. Were they, perhaps, impersonal computers? I shrugged off my thoughts about computers. As Aimee had told us earlier, there was a guest house behind the cabin. It was visible from the window in the kitchen. The four of us ate breakfast. Aimee had called earlier from Salt Lake City and Andrea had made sure that the refrigerator was stocked with some staples. Aimee and Mary scrambled the eggs in butter and added a little cheese to make a simple omelet. This was augmented with some toast and orange juice found in the refrigerator. Normally, I don't eat cheese, but I'd let the girls know my food preferences at a later time. The breakfast was delicious and quite filling. After finishing my plate, I brought them to the sink, and Debbie got up after me with Aimee's and Mary's plates as well. The two of us cleaned and dried the dishes, and Debbie put everything away, since she knew the layout of the cabinets. After breakfast, Debbie and Mary headed into the living room to watch some television. Aimee seemed to sense that I wanted to talk with her, and I motioned to one of the bedrooms. Without saying a word, both Aimee and I sat down on chairs, moving them to face on another. Without any fanfare, I began discussing my thoughts and suspicions with Aimee, recapping my thoughts as she had been driving earlier. I also told her about my "visit" back to the hospital, finding another doctor's name in a room where I had once been interviewed. Aimee didn't say much. She occasionally asked questions to bring me back on track when I started going on a tangent. When I finished, Aimee finally spoke. "I had much of the same thoughts as you. It is now almost certain that it is the military that is following us, and they probably know about your special gift." I nodded. "I am afraid for us, Master," Aimee said. I looked up and saw her eyes tearing. I drew a breath, and finally said, "It might be a good idea for me to leave the three of you alone..." "No, Jim!" Aimee said, adamantly. "If they are following all of us already, and we have good reason to believe that they are, then it is best if we remain together." I was unconvinced. "Why, Aimee?" "I have a feeling," Aimee said, emphasizing that last word. "A feeling that we would be better off together than separating, now." I had a deep respect for Aimee's feelings. "All right. So, what do we do?" Aimee gave me a thin smile, and answered. This was the "take charge" Aimee that I had started to get familiar with a few times back in California and Hawaii. "First, we need to get Debbie and Mary on board with us. Let them know the risks. Then, we need to fight back." "You, Aimee..." I said, surprised by the conviction in her voice that I was hearing. "You want the four of us to actually fight? The military?" She had to be crazy. "Jim," she said, a fierce determination in her eyes. "We have a right to privacy!" She was positively adamant--a side of Aimee I had never seen before. "We aren't hurting anybody. We aren't even hurting ourselves. If somebody tries to hurt you... or any of us... we should be willing to fight back." "Nobody has hurt me--or any of us--at least, not yet," I said. As soon as I said it, the words rang out hollow to me. "Not yet," Aimee echoed. "I'm not suggesting that we fight them unprovoked, but we should at least use whatever resources we have in getting to know exactly who and what it is that is interested in us." I nodded. This flashed true in my mind. It is a stupid leader that doesn't plan for contingencies, but I didn't want to go off, half cocked, fighting what could just be phantoms, either. "Aimee," I said, slowly. "I agree that if anybody finds out about this power of mine, then we are all in danger. There is nothing that will be able to stop them from getting us. The military has thousands of people at their disposal." "I think I know how we can win," Aimee said, almost in a whisper. "Win?" I asked. "Please wait, Jim. Let's discuss this with all of us together. After all, each and every one of us has something to lose if anything goes wrong." ------- Aimee and I shared a hug, and then hastened a "family conference" together. We were now in the living room. Aimee had fetched some lemonade from the refrigerator, and we were sipping the ice-cold drinks. I started by telling Mary and Debbie about my suspicions. Aimee helped, filling in my narrative with her own thoughts. After five or ten minutes, both Mary and Debbie were also adding their thoughts. I had almost forgotten that Mary had military experience. She immediately understood the need for us to get more intelligence from those that may be pursuing us. She even outlined one problem. "Right now," Mary explained. "We can be reasonably sure that we have eluded them, at least temporarily. Only June and Mely know that we got off in Salt Lake City, and even then, they have no idea whether we were going to drive here, or take a plane somewhere else." All of us nodded at Mary's analysis. She continued. "Our presence here will be detected sooner or later." "Can they get past the working ranch?" Debbie asked, a bit worried that her place for privacy could easily be breached. "Yes," Mary and I said, together. We looked at one another and smiled. I added, "The defense services aren't chartered for domestic surveillance... hell, nobody is supposed to be spying on innocent civilians. That didn't get past tricky Dick..." Mary cut me off, bringing the conversation back on track. "Let's assume for a moment that it's the army that is interested in Jim. It's a safe assumption, both he and I worked in the army, and I have knowledge of army intelligence. Jim was staying at a hospital while he was still in the service." I nodded. I hadn't followed that particular line of thought yet. "So, we're either talking Army Intelligence, or a special ops force. The latter would have no trouble getting into this compound." "Special ops?" asked Debbie. "Rangers. Like my old unit," I said. "You were Army Rangers?" Mary asked, looking at me. "Only been in the corps a couple of years," I said. "I was going to be a gofer for a bird colonel for my real training, though." Mary looked at me with a new respect. I blushed. "Mary, I'm totally out of shape. Three months ago, I could hardly walk." She nodded. Aimee cleared her throat, wanting us to get back on track. Mary nodded at Aimee. "OK. Either Intelligence or Rangers. Maybe both. Either way, this is bad news. We do have one advantage: we can safely assume that there are only a few people--one or two at most--that actually know about the nature of Jim's talents. The others will only be given enough information on a 'need to know' basis." Debbie was confused. "But why would the army do anything to a soldier in a coma?" Mary answered. "I am not sure when the experiments became common knowledge, but there were reports that the Army and the CIA were doing experiments with mind-altering drugs on patients without informed consent during the 1950s or 1960s. More recently, there were revelations about intentionally not treating syphilis on a number of African-American men during that period well into the late 70s." I hadn't heard about that last bit. I nodded to Mary anyway, and said, "I was thinking more of the radiation exposure experiments during the 1950s, myself. Mary is more... up to date... on things. Looks like Uncle Sam still has his hands dirty. Look at the Arms for Hostages scandal going on right now!" Debbie's eyes got wide. It was apparent that most of these things weren't common knowledge to her. Aimee didn't show any surprise or emotion in what Mary and I had explained. "Anyway, let's say that they were still up to their tricks when Jim was in a coma," Mary said. "Actually, it would explain a period of time that I wasn't able to visit you while your condition had supposedly remained unchanged." "Huh?" I said. This was news to me. "Jim, I made a promise to you... to myself, maybe... to visit you every day after you got out of surgery," Mary explained. "I met your parents on many of those occasions." I nodded, trying to get Mary back to the point. "Well, there was a period of a couple of weeks where I wasn't able to visit you. Nobody could give me any information. I thought your condition was deteriorating, but everybody assured me that your condition was unchanged. They just couldn't tell me why you were unavailable." Aimee's eyes got bigger. Something clicked. "Mary, do you remember the first time I visited you in your dreams?" Mary nodded. "Yes. Why?" "Was it before or after I was 'unavailable?'" Mary thought. "It was... afterward," she said, doubtfully. She closed her eyes and thought deeply. "Definitely afterward. Once I met you... as a younger person... in my dreams... I visited you just about every day." Aimee said quietly, "Well, we now have opportunity. Motive is obvious. The means is pretty obvious..." The four of us sat, digesting this information. After five minutes of silence, I spoke up. "OK. Let's not dwell on the past. Our problem right now is the present. What can we do that will help us right now?" Aimee answered immediately. "We need intelligence. We need to get the name of the person or entity that is interested in us. We need to find out who they are, and what they are planning to do with us." "OK," I said. Aimee was a very down-to-business person, and I smiled at her. "How do we do that?" "Well, from Hawaii, I enlisted the services of a PI that sometimes did some work for Debbie's father. He has military and intelligence experience. He's good... both in terms of competence... and he seems to be a good person inside, although I never met him in person. He'll do the right thing." Aimee looked a little uncomfortable explaining that last part in front of Mary. "OK. What if he thinks the 'right' thing is to inform the military?" I asked. "Debbie's father and I used him to ferret out somebody that was using inside information to make millions on the commodity's market. I know for a fact that he turned down a fortune in bribes, exposing the criminal to the SEC." "All right. Let's assume that he cannot be bribed. Is he 'My country, right or wrong?'" I asked. "I don't get that vibration from him," Aimee said. "Of course, I've never met him directly." I pondered this information. "Let's see what he can find out, then. If he is good at counter-intelligence, then he can be a very useful tool at our disposal. When will you hear from him? Does he know where we are?" "He'll send email to me at Malen Associates," Aimee explained. "He's pretty competent with computers, and he also has a few people working with him that he's pretty confident in that are geniuses with computers. When the email arrives at Malen Associates, I'll find out on the computers here." I nodded at Aimee. The conversation pretty much died off at this point. "So... what's for dinner?" I asked. This got everybody thinking along other lines. "Hamburgers on the grill," Aimee said. "Jim can be our grill chef." Grill chef? Almost every red-blooded American male has grilled burgers on a barbecue. "Well, if you are up to it," I said, with a mixture of doubt and pride. "After all, it's been--what? Fifteen years? Sixteen? I might be rusty. Where's the grill?" Debbie smiled at me and led me into the kitchen, where she found some ground beef and I watched as she molded it into some patties. "No buns," Debbie said. "We do have English muffins in the fridge." She led me outside, holding a platter of newly formed burger patties. She explained the workings of her gas grill, and in a matter of minutes, I had the burgers sizzling thereon. ------- Dinner was a minor success. Mary showed her cooking expertise by making some excellent hash browns, Aimee put together a salad, and Debbie set the table. The gas grill was faster cooking than the old Hibachi that I used to use many years ago. It was convenient and easy to get the right temperature using the dials provided. It only took about ten minutes before I had the burgers cooked. We made small talk during dinner, and afterward Debbie and Mary did the dishes. Afterward, we retired to the living room. Aimee located Star Wars on videocassette, and I watched the movie on her large television. The movie started out with typical B-movie laser fight scenes, and I was wondering what would make three grown women actually enjoy such tripe. It seemed against everything that I knew about females and science fiction. The movie actually started to pick up after a few minutes, although the dialog was so crappy, it was difficult to see how the actors and actresses uttered some of their lines with a straight face. There was a scene early into the movie where the old man says something like "These are not the droids you are looking for," mentally commanding the storm troopers to pay them no attention. This brought back to mind the episode in the park, where I thought to myself, "Please, officer, You don't need to see my I.D." Talk about deja-vu! I found the movie to be engaging, but found that the heavy handedness of the pseudo-religious implications of "The Force" (they seemed to refer to it in capital letters) really detracted from my enjoyment. After the movie was over, Mary asked if I wanted to see any of the sequels (there were two), and I politely declined. Debbie turned on a stereo to a station that played soft jazz numbers. I thought about the movie that I had just seen. What if there was an all-seeing, all-powerful "force" that I had managed to tap into? Something like that could explain my mental capabilities, once you got around the "good side" and "dark side" black-and-white-isms that the movie described with the subtlety of a sledgehammer on the side of your head. I dismissed this as impossible; most religions have some sort of leader... God, if you will. if this power was given to me by this "God," then why hasn't he made his presence known to me? I grew up as an agnostic during the seventies, and avoided the mind-altering drugs of the sixties and seventies as well. I wasn't one to jump on the T.M. bandwagons; I wasn't particularly religious, even in my agnosticism. I would hardly be the sort of person that a deity would select for such a mind power. How had I been using it? I inadvertently enslaved two wonderful people, people that have told me that they enjoy being enslaved, but they were still enslaved, no matter how I looked at it. I also enslaved Aimee, but with her express and informed consent beforehand. Certainly, this wasn't the "appropriate use" that a deity would want such a power to be used. My mind followed that particular thought to its converse. Most religions that I have known have had a devil or Satan. Even the movie's Force had a "dark side." The "deity" that may have given me this power may not have been of good conscience. If that was the case, my enslavement of Mary and Debbie may have been appropriate, considering the Judeo-Christian image of the devil. Once again, I rejected that. First, my "enslavement" of Aimee was by her own choice. Second, being an agnostic, I had to reject the idea of a devil as much as I did the idea of a God without proof. I didn't want to undergo any religious conversion right here and now in response to my obtaining this mind power. I looked up in my thoughts, and Mary had just re-entered the living room with two glasses of wine. Her hips were swaying in time with the a song called "This Masquerade." Mary gave one of her glasses to Debbie, who was seated in one of the reclining chairs, and then she caught my eye. I had been watching Mary's seductive hips going back and forth in time with the slow melody. She saw what I had been staring at, and blushed slightly. "May I have this dance, Madam?" I asked, using a phony French accent and rising from my seat. "Let me put down this glass," Mary said, and she put her wine onto an end table next to an empty recliner. I hadn't danced in quite a while, but this was a slow number, and I simply moved close to Mary and put my hands on her hips, pulling her close to me. I felt her hips bobbing to the rhythm of the song, and we moved together. I'd never be a Fred Astaire, but I didn't really care. Toward the end of the song, Debbie got up and went through a stack of little plastic boxes, looking for something. She apparently found what she was looking for and opened it up. I watched Debbie over Mary's shoulders. She had a small silver plate, and she pushed a button on her stereo and a little drawer popped out. She put the plate into the drawer and pushed the drawer back into the stereo, and pressed a button just as the song on the radio had ended. Debbie turned around and looked at me staring at her. Mary, at the end of the song, pulled away from me a bit, knowing my attention was elsewhere (she didn't seem upset, though). Debbie smiled at me and said, "You appear to like George Benson. I have a disc with his greatest hits on it." A funky song came on, "Turn Your Love Around." It wasn't something I felt comfortable dancing to, but Debbie approached me, and we slow danced to the funk number. Since this was his "greatest hits" and I hadn't heard the song before (it was quite catchy), I realized that I had missed a lot of contemporary culture during my coma. There was a twinge of regret at having lost a portion of my life like this, but it was quickly overwhelmed with my happiness of being able to hear it now, anyway. It was great being able to enjoy it with these three women that I cherished so much. Debbie usually brings out the "monster" in me, and it was only a minute or so before I found myself digging my fingers into her wonderfully padded ass cheeks. Debbie responded by hugging her hands, which were around my neck, tighter, and moving her body completely into mine. I felt myself growing hard, feeling her tits against my chest. I pulled her ass closer to me, and felt her pelvic region grinding against my groin. Offhand, I wondered if Mary would feel this as a rejection of her; after all, we had been slow dancing and it hadn't gotten sexual. I turned Debbie's body so I could see where Mary had moved to, and saw nothing but a smile on Mary's face. Inwardly, I breathed a sigh of relief. Jealousy was one thing that could really ruin a relationship like the one that the four of us shared. Luckily, none of the girls have exhibited even the slightest hint of it, and while this seemed unnatural to me, I was glad of it right then. I mention earlier in my story that I hadn't had too many bed partners before my coma. I do not want to give you the impression that I had no lady friends. However, I had known from my teens what my career path would be, and having a wife and family wasn't really in the cards at that point. I didn't really believe in sex just for the hell of it (at least, not until I had met Mary!), and the female friends that I had eventually became good friends, if not intimate. One of the things that I noticed when you had a group of females, is that when one leaves for a moment, the others start talking about her. Maybe not every time, but it seemed to be a natural tendency. With my three lovelies, however, I never saw even a hint of that with one exception: when Aimee was the person leaving, there would usually be a comment made about how intelligent she was. This seemed a bit unnatural to me as well; it didn't fit with my previous experience. I filed this observation in my mind for examination at another time. Debbie's lips were on mine, now. I was no longer listening to the music, but reacting to Debbie's fervent advances. I kissed her back, our tongues touching. One of her hands dropped from my neck to the front of my pants, and I realized that it wasn't going to be long before I had a sticky situation to put up with. I turned my face to the right in order to escape from Debbie's mouth. When I got clear, I said, huskily, "Let's adjourn to the bedroom. I think it will be more comfortable in there." ------- Debbie and I retired to the master bedroom, and we started a long slow strip tease, while we fondled each other's bodies. I'm not sure what Mary and Aimee were thinking about Debbie and I going at it, and at the moment, I didn't really give them much thought. When Debbie was clad only in her panties and bra, and I picked her body up and deposited it on the bed, slipping off her panties as I did so. My face was over her crotch as I did this, and within moments, the scent of her musk was wafting through my senses. I placed both hands between her legs, opening the folds of her vagina with my two thumbs, exposing her pink vulva. I lowered my head into her snatch, and stuck my tongue out, tasting her. Debbie shuddered just a bit as I made contact. I moved my tongue up and down, in tiny motions, causing Debbie to spread her legs wider. I broadened my strokes, and then I went for the kill. I started at the bottom near her asshole and taking a long, leisurely stroke, I moved it slowly upward. I could taste her feminine secretions, and it gave me a heady feeling. As I got closer to the top, I moved my tongue to the left, and then to the right, kissing her vaginal lips with my lips and sucking them into my mouth. Debbie now had her hands on the back of my head, and she was trying to get me to move my head up towards her clitoris. I wasn't to be rushed, however. Instead, I kept returning my attentions to her lips, moving just slightly upward with each suck. Debbie was now trying to grind her clit into the top of my lips. I didn't want to torture the girl too much, so I finally gave the sensitive spot a tiny jab with my tongue. I heard Debbie exhale sharply. I continued to jab at it repeatedly, and Debbie started making cute squealing noises. Finally, I took the nubbin between my lips and gently sucked on it. I felt Debbie's hands pushing my head down again, and I ignored her. Instead, I increased my suction on her clitoris, licking it with my tongue inside my mouth. Debbie's hips were moving spastically now, making it difficult for me to retain my rhythm and to keep my lips and tongue where I (and Debbie!) wanted them. I still had my boxers on, and I moved my hands down to pull them down my legs. My cock got caught on one of the folds, and it was rigid enough that there was a slight amount of pain, but I finally got them down to about my knees. Debbie's hips were now moving from side to side like a snake, and it was next to impossible for me to maintain proper contact with her clit without using my hands. I swung my hands up towards her shoulders, and in a single quick move that surprised even me, I pulled myself up her body and within a second, my cock was poised at the entrance to her gates of heaven. I had intended to start sucking on Debbie's breasts, but she still had her bra on. So, instead, I moved further upward and as my cock slipped inside her, my lips found hers. Debbie didn't hesitate and sucked my lips into hers as I started my thrusts into her. She licked the juices that accumulated on my face, and sucked on my tongue. I had just about reached my peak and my balls started constricting. As if on cue, Debbie started her squeal, which I had come to know was a signal that her own release was imminent. I knew from experience that I had another minute or two, and slowed my thrusts as an admittedly futile way of staving off my own orgasm until hers had begun. I was nearly successful, but in the end, my balls won out. I started erupting into her love hole, sending my first eruption into her. My hips went on automatic, and I thrust again, sending another stream on its way. By the time I thrust the third time, Debbie's orgasm started. Having had sex with Debbie before, I was prepared for when Debbie achieved orgasm. I instinctively breathed in an entire lungful a fraction of a second before her powerful arms started pulling my body onto hers. Debbie was in complete control now, holding my body with her hands behind my back as close as possible to her own, and thrusting her hips on and down about five times faster than I was when I had started my orgasm. Her hips continued vibrating up and down quickly, moving my cock in and out. She had her hips and back in such a position that her clitoris was situated on my base of my cock, and was getting plenty of stimulation. Having reached her peak, Debbie's hip movements slowed, and her powerful arms released their vise-like grip on my back. "I love you, Master," Debbie whispered to me. "Call me Jim, Debbie. I love you, too," I answered her. I looked at her and smiled. "Calling you 'Master' makes you uneasy, doesn't it?" I simply nodded in response. "You know, we're still not completely undressed!" Debbie giggled at that, and she unsnapped her bra as I removed my T-shirt and boxer shorts. I saw her breasts, and they looked so tasty and inviting, I just had to suck on one... and then the other! Then my hand moved down her body, and found her wet hole. I probed with my index finger, and started caressing her clitoris. Experience told me that Debbie really likes this. In the space of a half hour, Debbie had a couple of smaller orgasms. I eventually fell asleep. ------- Chapter 13 "Are You Happy? Are You Satisfied? How Long Can You Stand The Heat?" I woke up, expecting to find Debbie in bed with me. Instead, I found a sleeping Aimee next to me. I stirred, and as expected, Aimee woke up, being a very light sleeper. "Good morning, Master," Aimee said, smiling. "Good morning, Aimee. Where's Debbie?" "She got up early in the morning," Aimee explained. "I think she's out for a jog with Mary." Debbie get up early in the morning? Stranger things have happened. I had a morning erection and I realized that Aimee was quite aware of it, if her eyes were any indication. I leaned over and kissed the pretty Polynesian girl and then hopped out of bed to relieve my pent-up hydraulic pressure. When I returned, Aimee had turned so that she was facing me. She was wearing a long white flannel robe, and her breasts made two tiny indentations in the fabric. I moved toward the bed, and sat down in front of Aimee. I playfully moved my left hand toward her left breast. I stroked her lightly through the soft fabric, and I could feel her nipple stiffen in response. "So, what's the plan for today?" I asked Aimee. Aimee's answer was a murmur and I saw that her eyes had closed. I had learned from my encounters with Aimee that she loved having her body touched. She would close her eyes so that each new sensation would be a surprise to her. I brought my right hand toward her legs, and ran a long line from the middle of her right thigh slowly up to her belly button. This resulted in a giggle from Aimee. "That feels wonderful, Master. I would love to do this all day!" Aimee finally answered. I poked and prodded at her, causing her to squirm on the bed, giggling helplessly as I tickled her. She moved her left hand slowly, not to prevent my hands from tickling her, but towards my body. She reached and found my knee, and moved her hand up my leg, searching for my boxers. I knew Aimee's intentions, and I thought for a moment. I playfully pushed her hand away, and she slowly moved it back. I started to tickle her in earnest and Aimee was forced to move her hand back to her own body to try to stop my attacking hands. This was something new; I had known that Aimee loved being touched in her erogenous areas. This was the first time that I saw her reaction to being tickled. She really seemed to enjoy being tickled; her hands were only giving me a token resistance, mostly from reflexive movements. Aimee's face lit up as she was laughing, and her eyes opened and I saw them sparkle. "Master..." she said, trying to get her breath. "Please... Master!" Her words were punctuated by giggles and laughs. "Hmm? Something wrong?" I asked innocently, continuing my onslaught. Aimee's breaths became spastic. It was very soon apparent to me where she was particularly sensitive. "T... Tickling..." This was followed by a series of shrieks. It was a good thing that Mary and Debbie were not in the room, or they would have thought I was killing the poor girl. "Oh... my!" I moved my face to hers, and she tried to push her face to either side, trying to get away from me. I followed her movements, and finally I was able to kiss her. As I did so, I eased up on my tickling. My hands were still brushing over her body through her nightgown, but her laughter was finally starting to decrease. Our kiss turned passionate. Aimee seemed to put every ounce of her being into the kiss. After a long moment, I felt her body shudder. I was amused. Did Aimee just have an orgasm? I continued to kiss her, letting her set the pace. Aimee adjusted her position so she could accommodate my weight better. I had stopped actively tickling her, and was now once again just lightly rubbing my hands against her clothed breasts. After a few moments, Aimee broke off the kiss. She smiled at me. "You like?" I asked her, smirking at her. Aimee sighed. "Tickling," she answered with a swoon, smiling with a faraway look in her eyes. Aimee came back to earth, I think. "It was... erotic..." she said, her eyes once again misting in a swoon. Suddenly, I had a rather vivid image in my mind. Aimee, bound to a bed with silk scarves. Me, with a peacock feather in my hand... This was weird! This was never one of my fantasies! On top of that, a peacock feather was about as alien to my mind as a moon rock. It occurred to me that the fantasy may have been one of Aimee's. We had shared our thoughts... how much of our thoughts are now embedded in the others' mind? "Would you like me to tickle you some more?" I asked her. Aimee lowered her eyes. "If you want, Master." "No!" I said, adamantly. "Only if you want, Aimee." I saw a number of changes in Aimee's face. She was silent for a few moments. After a while, she looked up at me, and lowered her eyes immediately, as if in supplication. "Yes, Master. I want." "Well, how about some breakfast, first?" I said with an evil grin. I moved off the bed, and offered my hand to Aimee. She looked up at my proffered hand, a little confused. Then she raised her own toward mine. I pulled her out of bed. "I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse!" I said. Aimee rose out of the bed and in a fluid motion that reminded me of Ginger Rogers, swept into my arms, just begging for a kiss. Of course, I can never refuse Aimee anything, especially when she begs. ------- Aimee led me into the kitchen, and looked around. She asked me if I liked yogurt and I gave her an unenthusiastic affirmative response. Aimee grinned at me and told me to let her prepare breakfast. I watched my beautiful Hawaiian darling go from cabinet to cabinet, pulling out bowls and some food. She kept her back to me as she assembled her concoction. After about five minutes, she had a bunch of soup bowls filled. At first, I thought I was looking at two banana splits. Then I realized that the "vanilla ice cream" I was looking at was really yogurt. There was some chocolate sauce and some nuts, and some crunchy stuff on top. I know she had a box of brown sugar out as well. "This is breakfast?" I asked Aimee, dubiously. "Yup, and it's good for you, too!" Aimee said. I watched her dig her spoon into the concoction, and she ate it. Her eyes closed as she ate, and when they reopened, she was smiling at me. I figured I was game for this. I took a spoonful of banana, yogurt, nuts, and some other stuff. When I ate it, I was surprised. "This is wonderful!" I bubbled. "My mother used to make things like this for me and my cousins on special occasions. It seems like dessert, except that most of the ingredients are good for you!" "Is this crunchy stuff oatmeal?" I asked. Aimee smiled. "Granola, actually," she answered. "The sprinkles on top are wheat germ and brown sugar." I remembered hippies extolling the virtues of wheat germ in my previous life, and wondered, by Aimee's such casual reference to the stuff, if wheat germ had become more mainstream since. I pushed that thought aside, though. My "Rip Van Winkle" thoughts tended to depress me. Once we were finished, I insisted that I clean up, and only allowed Aimee to put a couple of items away. Instead of returning to the bedroom for another tickle-fest, Aimee and I ended up laying on one of the sofas in the living room. We were relaxing watching some Bugs Bunny cartoons on the entertainment center when Mary and Debbie got back in. Aimee told them that their breakfasts were in the refrigerator, and they left for the kitchen. I had enjoyed watching the Bugs Bunny cartoons when I was a kid. Seeing him on television now brought a connection back to my life before the coma: Bugs Bunny and his friends haven't changed at all! Bugs always seemed to be in charge, no matter what happened. In any situation, he would know exactly what to do. I idly wondered what he'd do in my particular situation. Of course, I realized that Bugs was just a cartoon, but I really wished that I had the utter confidence that Bugs always displayed; the ability to make wisecracks when it looked like Elmer was about to pull the trigger on the rabbit. I didn't feel very confident nor did I feel in charge as I sat there watching those silly (but enjoyable!) cartoons. My life could possibly be in danger, and the only thing I have been doing recently is mulling over my problems, or getting my rocks off with one or more of the girls, and now here I was just watching cartoons! Aimee seemed to notice my impatience. "What's the matter, Jim?" she asked. "I feel like we should be DOING something. Waiting for an investigator to report seems to be wasting time!" Aimee got up and sat next to me on the sofa where I was sitting. "Jim, we need more information before we can actually do anything." "I know. It's just that... I don't know, Aimee. We should be making plans." I lowered my head onto her shoulders. Aimee responded by patting me on the head. "Patience, Jim. Making plans without intelligence never works. You know that. Believe me, you are destined to triumph. You are a good man." Somehow, Aimee managed to project her calming feelings onto me. I could feel her confidence strengthen me. How did this girl do this? "Thank you," I whispered. "I really love you, Aimee." "I will love you forever, Master," she whispered back. From the kitchen, Debbie and Mary were making enthusiastic comments on the yogurt sundaes Aimee had left in the refrigerator for them. I was thinking about how great my life was when I found that I fell back asleep. ------- When I woke up, none of the girls were in sight. I could hear some typing being done in another room (Aimee?). The volume was turned down on the television, which was now showing a few scantily clad women doing exercises. I watched the show a bit, wondering if the point of the show was to help housewives watching keep themselves fit, or for guys to ogle the women on the screen. I decided, after watching what they ridiculously called "aerobics," that it was probably mostly the latter. A few minutes after I awoke, Aimee came back into the living room. "You seem to sleep quite a lot," Aimee said. Aimee was always making comments like that. I didn't know what to say to that, so I just shrugged my response. Aimee studied me a bit and said, "It seems when you use your mind powers, Jim, your body needs to rest a lot afterward. That never seems to happen with me." Again, I had no answer for her and shrugged again. "I got a preliminary report from Mr. Voder," Aimee said. "Voder?" I asked. I had never heard that name before. "The investigator I enlisted," Aimee explained. "He's done work for us before. He's a very good and discreet person with military experience. He sent in a report this morning." "That's good news! What does he say?" I asked. Aimee sighed. "He says that whoever is checking up on us pretty systematic and thorough. That it's through the government, but not through any official agency like the F.B.I." "Military?" Aimee nodded. "Most probably. Seems to be based in Washington." To me, that meant the Pentagon. I wondered how good Mr. Voder's abilities would be to penetrate that fortress. I simply nodded to Aimee, digesting that information. "He says that he should have more information by Friday." I raised my eyes at this. If he could get information out of the Pentagon, then this P.I.'s resources must be pretty impressive. "How much is this Mr. Voder costing us?" I asked, forgetting that it was actually Debbie's money that was being spent. "His usual fee, plus a bonus. About a thousand a day, not including expenses." I don't know why I asked; I didn't know what the going rates were for investigators nowadays, let alone people that seemed to be in the league as this Mr. Voder. I found myself getting embarrassed at having asked. I decided to change the subject. "Where are Mary and Debbie?" "Debbie is showing Mary the grounds. I believe they are at the stable." "Stable? You have horses here?" "Yes. Mary told us that she learned to ride as a child," Aimee said. Hmmm. The things one learns. I once had a friend whose parents had a few horses, and he had taught me to ride, although that was quite a few years ago. I didn't know how to take care of horses, though. I was definitely no expert horseback rider. "What do you think I should do?" I asked Aimee. Aimee sighed a bit. "Master, you should ease your mind." "Hmmm?" I asked. Aimee could be so cryptic sometimes. "I've only known you a few weeks, Master, so forgive me for being too forward," Aimee said. "Please, Aimee. I cannot be angry at you. Please tell me what's on your mind." "Well, I have shared your mind on a few occasions. I think you realize that when we do this, it is a mutual effect. You share my thoughts as I share your thoughts at the same time." Aimee looked at me to confirm this. I simply nodded. I had gotten that feeling already; Aimee wasn't telling me anything that I didn't already suspect. "Well, Master, when I first met you, I sensed a 'goodness' in you. I've told you that many times: you are a good person, and I've known that almost since I first met you, but you worry that your behavior isn't entirely nice. It wasn't until I knew you later that a deep sense of ethics is what really drives you. Having Mary, and then Debbie, under your control, worries you." I nodded at this. "I sensed a change in your worries when you accepted me into this... family. You were happy. I gave myself to you willingly, and we both shared our minds... together." "Yes, Aimee..." I said, agreeing with her. "Jim, please. Let me finish." This was the forceful Aimee that I had met on a few occasions. I allowed her to continue. Aimee saw me signal her to continued. "As I've pointed out, our sharing was mutual. You have seen what is in my head... what is in my heart. I have seen the same in you." Aimee paused. I waited. I knew she had something important to say. "You wonder about the source of your emotions, Jim. Don't you?" Aimee had hit the nail on the head. "Yes, dearest. Things seem to have happened quite fast..." Aimee smiled at me. "What you have experienced isn't like what normally happens between people. There is a connection that is deeper than simple infatuation." Infatuation? I could honestly say that "infatuation" wasn't something that had worried me, actually. Aimee continued, "Like a mother and her child. Even a father and his child. They share something more than just what they see in each other. The child is a part of both the mother and the father--it was the act of love between the two that produced the child. The bond, therefore, is at a very deep level." I could think of more than one instance where there was very little love between a parent and child, but I allowed Aimee to continue. "Just like a child is a part of its parents, so are Mary and Debbie a part of you. You have spent time in their minds, and they have spent time in yours. You have shared your dreams with Mary! This isn't the infatuation that one gets when one sees somebody on a dance floor." I looked at Aimee. She was making sense. "So, I love them because we've shared more than just verbal niceties?" "Exactly," answered Aimee. "What about you and me?" "I needed you. When I first met you, I knew that somehow, you could fulfill a need that I had. I also knew that I could fulfill a need that you had. You sensed it, but were scared by it." I don't know if I was scared, but we did seem to fit nicely together. I just nodded. "Just like you and Mary fit; like you and Debbie fit; like Mary and Debbie fit. We all fit." I shook my head. "No. There's a flaw there. You and Debbie were together long before either of you met me." Aimee smiled. "We were together, but never really together until we met you." I was confused, but let Aimee talk. "Anyway, we're all a part of something bigger." "How many more will we need in this screwy marriage, Aimee?" Aimee smiled. "That's another of your worries, Master. You felt complete when it was you and Mary. Then Debbie came in, and then me. You are wondering where it will stop, right?" YES! I simply nodded to Aimee. "Do you feel like somebody else needs to be in this relationship, Master?" Aimee asked. "Um... no!" "Well, our family seems stable right now. Do you agree?" she asked. "Stable? Yes. Normal? No." Aimee laughed slightly at my answer. "Nothing about our relationship is normal, Master, but it should be safe to say that unless we feel that something needs to be changed about our relationship, it shouldn't change, and it probably will not change." What she said sounded right. I had no way to verify this, though. There were Just Aimee's feelings. It just happened that Aimee's feelings seemed to be right on the money all of the time. I thought about it more. I still don't know the reason that Debbie was added into this relationship. It seemed more of an accident than something that either of us needed. I ended up shaking my head. "No, Aimee. That doesn't explain everything." "It's Debbie," Aimee said. "Right?" "Yeah..." I said, slowly. "Debbie needed a focus for her life. You provided it." "No. If what you said is true, then Debbie is the exception that disproves what you said. Mary and I fill some need within each of us. You and I fulfill needs within each of us as well. So where is the reciprocity with Debbie?" Aimee stared at me. "Master, I must beg you to believe me. Debbie really needed the two of you. Even if you don't know how, you need Debbie." "Need? Like, I need her money?" I asked, almost sorry as soon as I mentioned it. Aimee continued to bore into my eyes. "Nothing as ephemeral as that, Master. You may not have discovered it yet, but I know that Debbie fills a need within you." "That's circular reasoning, Aimee," I said. "You say that our relationship is special because we all 'fit' together. When I say that I don't see a special fit between Debbie and me, you imply it has to be there because our relationship is special." Aimee's look softened. "Think with your heart, Master," she said, softly. "Think with your heart." Well, our conversation made some sort of sense, even if I didn't completely agree with Aimee's conclusions. It didn't serve the purpose of "putting my mind to ease," as Aimee had suggested, though. ------- Since I didn't think I would still be able to ride a horse, Aimee got a couple of dirt bikes out of the garage and we got into them. I followed Aimee as she led me through some paths on the property, past the stable, and down to a large pond. She parked off the trail, and I pulled next to her and stopped my engine as well. "I believe that Debbie and Mary took this trail, and they'll take another trail back, so we don't need to worry that our bikes will spook the horses," Aimee said. That hadn't occurred to me. Aimee pointed out the pond to me. "Debbie owns all the property around this pond, and off to the north to the hills in the distance." "That's a lot of property," I said. Aimee just nodded, and pointed in the direction opposite the hills. "There's the working farm over there. Want to pay them a visit?" I didn't know if we'd be intruding. "If you think it's all right," I answered. Aimee smiled, and started up her engine again. Soon, the two of us were taking another trail that went alongside the pond, and then veered off in the direction of the farmhouse. As Aimee and I passed by some fields, I saw a man and a woman waving at us. Aimee waved back, and I did so as well. Aimee continued toward the farmhouse, and pulled into the driveway. I didn't know what to expect when I got to the working ranch. In retrospect, the image that conjured up when I thought of the term "Mormon Fundamentalist" was similar to Pennsylvania Dutch--horse drawn carriages and no electricity, as an example. I guess I was a bit prone to thinking in stereotypes. In reality, the place was exactly as one would expect in a modern farm. There was a pick-up truck in the driveway that looked like it had a few decades of history on it. So much for the horse-drawn buggy! As we approached the front door, a woman met us there, smiling at us. Aimee led me toward the woman. "Hi, Andrea. This is Jim, who is one of the people that will be staying with Debbie and me at the cabin." "Hello, neighbor," Andrea said, smiling at me. I reached out my hand to shake hers. "Hello, Andrea." "Angus is working the field out back, with Eliza and Becky," Andrea said. "Oh, Jim and I were just exploring the ranch. We just wanted to say 'hi' and didn't want to interrupt Angus," Aimee said. "Oh, I doubt he'd be upset to see you," Andrea replied. "So, this is just a neighborly visit, then?" she asked, a smile forming on her face. "Exactly," Aimee and I said together. We looked at each other, grinning. "I don't get many visitors," Andrea said, dimples now adorning her cheeks. She opened the door all the way. "Why don't you both come in?" I got my first look at Andrea. She was in her twenties, and very pretty looking. She had auburn colored hair and brown eyes. She was taller than Aimee, but shorter than either Debbie or Mary. Her face was round and a bit plump; as I mentioned before, her cheeks dimpled when she smiled. I could also tell that she was pregnant. Andrea followed my glance, and her cheeks dimpled again. "I'm due in four months," she told me. Aimee and I walked into the house and I once again offered Andrea my hand. When she took my hand, something jarred me... something totally unexpected flashed into my brain. "Wow!" I exclaimed, unable to keep from blurting out. "Oh, you flatterer! Besides, I'm married," Andrea said, misinterpreting my exclamation. "No... something just flashed..." I decided to stop. Aimee looked at me, a bit worried. "Are you all right?" she asked. "Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you," I said. "Well... I just thought you were admiring my pregnant form," Andrea said, her eyes sparkling. "You are indeed lovely," I said. I decided to change the subject, but my eyes kept returning to her waist. Something in my mind needed to tell her something. "Thank you..." she said. Suddenly, I knew exactly what my mind was telling me. Before I could think, I blurted out, "Andrea, do you have any brothers or sisters?" Andrea looked at me strangely. After a bit of a pause, she finally answered, "I have an older sister and two younger brothers." Andrea was now frowning a bit for some reason. Aimee looked at me, not interrupting. I decided to go for broke. "Your brothers. Are they twins?" "Why yes. Twins!" Andrea said. She looked from me back to Aimee and back to me. "Do you know my family?" Andrea asked, still frowning. "No... when are you due, may I ask?" "I think four months, if I timed my schedule correctly," she replied, her frown deepening. "What is it, Jim?" Aimee asked. I ignored Aimee. "Have you seen a doctor... an obstetrician, perhaps?" "Not since I tested pregnant. The pregnancy is going fine. Why, are you a doctor? Do you suspect something is wrong?" Andrea's face registered alarm. "I'm not a doctor... but sometimes I get these insights... like Aimee..." I looked over at Aimee, who was now staring at me. I didn't want to get too far into my mind revelations. Andrea nodded. I had hoped she knew about Aimee's insights. Aimee said, softly, in hopes of calming Andrea, "Jim, do you think that she is carrying twins?" Twin boys, actually. I didn't say this. I simply nodded. "It's just a possibility--a hunch. If so, I think that sometimes multiple births are more difficult than single births. Did you doctor know that your family had twins?" "You don't think there's anything wrong, then?" she asked, still sounding a little worried. "Nothing is wrong," I said confidently. "I just thought it might be a good idea for your doctor to know if there is a possibility of twins." Andrea looked at me strangely, and didn't say anything for a couple of minutes. She looked over at Aimee, who was simply nodding at her. "My, you are a strange person, Jim. I think my doctor has an ultrasound machine, though. If you think it's necessary." I wondered how modern medicine fit in with Mormon Fundamentalism, and then realized I was thinking religious stereotypes again. Andrea continued to think and then said, "Do you think I need to visit the doctor today, or could I wait a few days?" "I don't see any reason to rush, Andrea. It was just a suggestion." Andrea once again looked from me to Aimee, and appeared to calm down. I felt like a heel to frighten a pregnant woman. Andrea invited us into the living room, and brought us some iced tea from the kitchen. It was a little sweet for my taste, but it was still drinkable. Andrea was excited about her pregnancy, and seemed a bit happy that she might be carrying twins. She showed us the cradle that Angus had created himself, which was in the master bedroom. I was taken by the lovely quilts in the bedroom, and Andrea beamed, as she had made them herself. Eventually, Aimee and I got a tour of the entire farmhouse. It was a very rustic place. Andrea pointed out where they had enlarged the building, adding some more lovely rooms. We spent almost an hour at the farmhouse, and we eventually made our leave. Andrea invited us back at any time; she spent most of her time inside the house during her pregnancy. She also promised that she'd visit the doctor within the week. As we left the farm house, Aimee smiled at me. "That was very nice, telling her about her twins." "I'm sorry," I said to Aimee. "I just blurted it out, but the impression was so strong..." "Don't be sorry," Aimee interrupted. "You can see how excited she is. She's the youngest wife, and apparently the first one to get pregnant. Having twins will really fill their desires for a large family." "I know... but I think that I frightened her. Nobody should ever do that to a pregnant woman!" Aimee actually broke out in laughter. "Jim! You must NEVER have heard mothers' tales to girls during their first pregnancies! They make Brian De Palma and John Carpenter's movies look like Sesame Street!" My Rip Van Winkle wasn't familiar with those names, except for Sesame Street. From the context, I figured they were directors associated with horror movies. I just shrugged. We donned our helmets and took our off-road bikes and headed back to the cabin. ------- Debbie and Mary were still out, presumably horseback riding, when Aimee and I got back to the cabin. Aimee went directly to the living room onto one of the computers, and typed a bit. After a couple of minutes, she frowned at the computer. "Bad news?" I asked. Aimee shook her head. "No news. I was hoping for more information." Aimee thought a bit and then added, "Well, even Mr. Voder has his limitations." I wondered how long it would be before whoever it was that was looking for us would decide to check this place. I then pushed the thought out of my mind; there was nothing that I could really do about that right now. "So, what do we do now?" I asked. "Wait, I guess," Aimee answered. I slowly moved closer to where Aimee was sitting. I looked over her shoulder towards the computer screen. "What is that?" I asked, pointing to the screen. Aimee turned towards the screen, looking to see what I had pointed at. I grinned wickedly as she turned away from me, and lowered my pointing fingers, moving my finger under her arm onto her right side. Without warning, I started to tickle her. "Stop that... !" Aimee said, and then started laughing. "You said you wanted me to tickle you," I said, adding my left hand to her other side. Aimee didn't answer, but squirmed, trying to get away from my attacking hands. After twenty seconds of this, I said, "Well, I guess I have an idea what we should do now. Let's adjourn to the bedroom." Aimee looked up with me. There was a hungry look in her eyes that I hadn't seen since this morning. I smiled at her, and offered her my hand. She took it, and I led her off her chair and into the bedroom. It didn't take me long to have Aimee promising to do just about anything to get me to stop tickling her. From her protests, you would think that she didn't enjoy it in the least, but she communicated to me in many unspoken ways that this really excited her. Once again, I was thinking about peacock feathers... I soon quieted her protests by placing my lips on hers. At about the same time, I slowed down the ferocity of my tickles, instead changing my touches to caresses... against her sides... against her body. As an author, I believe that I am now supposed to tell you here that I, the glorious Don Juan who has three beautiful females in his harem, ravaged the poor girl, making her promise to write bad checks, etc. Unfortunately, the bloody truth is that I fell fast asleep on top of her. More than just sleeping, however, I also had a dream. ------- I saw a gentleman sitting at a desk. There were fluorescent lights overhead, and the place had a feeling like I was back at the hospital. My "presence" was behind the gentleman, hovering over a credenza. I knew that I wouldn't be visible in this room, and I silently moved my position to the front of the desk to get a better view of the man. A name plate was on the desk that read "Col. Frank DiPietro" I glanced around at the office. It was rather spartan: no pictures or anything adorned the walls. There was an air vent that didn't seem to be making any noise. Aside from a sheaf of papers on the desk that the man was reading, there wasn't even any pictures or anything else in the room that made it look like anybody actually worked there. The gentleman was wearing a white shirt, and had an I.D. badge on his pocket that had his picture (must have been a few years old) that had DiPietro on it, along with some acronyms that the military was famous for, and a whole bunch of thick and thin lines underneath. I knew that this was another "out of body" experience for me, but this was unusual... in the past, the only places that I could visit were places that I had been. I was almost certain that I had never been in this office before. I looked at the face of the man, wondering if he possessed the face that had haunted me in previous dreams, but I had absolutely no feeling of having seen that person before. What did this mean? I had never been in this office before... and I had never seen this man before. Who was this Colonel DiPietro? "Jim," I heard a voice say, nearly startling me out of my wits. I quickly calmed down as I recognized that "voice." It was Aimee's presence; she seemed to have joined me in this out of body trip. "Aimee? I didn't expect you here!" I said. Aimee's mental voice answered. "You passed out on the bed, and the next thing that I know, I'm moving about in this room with you. Who is this man?" I looked around, and somehow detected Aimee's presence. I was eerily reminded of the time when our minds came together back in Debbie's "shack" in Hawaii. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just dreaming him up." "You've never met this man?" Aimee asked. "No, but he's DoDIA. Intelligence," I said. I felt weird talking about this person as if he weren't here; in fact, it was Aimee and I that really weren't there. "Why are we here, then?" Aimee's voice asked. Damned if I knew. I looked around the office again. There was no clues to be found anywhere. What was I doing there? I turned back to where Aimee's presence was, but it was no longer there. I looked around the room, frantically, but her presence had vanished. I was about to leave as well, when it occurred to me that I should glance at the papers that the man was reading. It was a memo, and it was dated the day before. Three words on the page stood out for me: "Capt. James Montgomery." He was reading about me! ------- I woke up, and found Aimee underneath me, already awake. "Jim... you were dreaming," Aimee said, matter-of-factly. "Yes," I agreed. "I was there with you for a little bit, and then I was back here in bed," she said. Aimee was shivering a bit. I hugged her. "Tell your Mr. Voder that he might be interested in a Colonel DiPietro. I think he's one of the people following us." Aimee didn't ask how I knew. She just nodded. We kissed and I rolled off her. I watched her get up, her clothes disheveled, and walk straight to her computer terminal. ------- Chapter 14 "I hear the voices when I'm dreaming, and I hear them say..." You can encounter some real problems when you write a story about your life. For one thing, you never know how it will end, since the fact that I'm still alive means that the ending cannot be known. Another problem that I encountered is that I have to admit that sometimes, I am not the correct person to be telling portions of my own story. I was pleasantly surprised to recently discover that my beloved Aimee has always kept a diary. She never mentioned it to anybody, and I don't believe that I ever actually saw her writing in it. Despite the fact that I have shared the innermost thoughts with my three wives, I have always allowed them their privacy, and never questioned their motives. For reasons that will become clear pretty soon, I have decided to use Aimee's diary entries to describe the events that happened next. Please understand that for the rest of this chapter, it is Aimee that is telling the story. I've edited her words very little, even where Aimee's recollection of events differs slightly from my own and those of my other wives. I've only removed some extraneous details like dates, and adapted it a tiny bit to make it fit more into a narrative style, rather than the typical "Dear Diary" type letter. ------- I left Jim to send an email to Mr. Voder where I mentioned that he might want to look up Colonel DiPietro. When I returned to the bedroom that I had just shared with Jim, I had found that Jim had fallen asleep. I started smiling, as Jim is extremely cute when he sleeps, but something inside my mind was nagging me: something was not quite right. I have learned very long ago to trust my intuition in circumstances like these, and I started to look at Jim with concern. I think that my concern must have radiated outside the room, because I heard the sound of breathing and looked at the doorway. Mary and Debbie were both there, looking concerned at me. "What's the matter, Aimee?" Debbie asked. I could feel her worry in that way that I've always associated with Debbie. I turned back toward Jim. "Jim is sleeping, but I have a feeling that something is wrong." Mary came into the room, and stood at the side of the bed opposite me. "I've seen him look that way before. Did you try to arouse him?" I shook my head and answered, "No, I have not. Not yet. I just discovered him this way." Mary nodded and then asked, "Did you try to... you know... reach him?" It was after Mary said this that I realized why I was concerned. I was used to having a feeling of Jim being "inside my head" whenever we were close together. I do not think that he is aware that he does this, or even whether it is he that is doing something or me that is reacting to him. It might be some sort of automatic response on the part of either of us, since I noticed it all the time since our first night together, even when he is asleep. The problem, as I now realized it, was that I wasn't feeling his presence at all. My brain must have noticed this and given me the "something is not right" feeling that I was experiencing. "That is it, Mary!" I said. "I do not feel him at all!" Debbie moved behind me and touched my shoulders. "Did you reach out to him?" "No," I answered, somehow comforted by the feel of Debbie's concern. "Please try," Marry and Debbie asked, their voices simultaneous as if they were of one thought. I must mention something here, because apparently Jim seems to be unaware of it. As much as Jim can reach into the minds of Debbie and Mary, I can sometimes reach into his mind on my own. Somehow, I had the feeling that I could do the same to Debbie and Mary, but I never thought to do so. It would be intrusive, and I totally respect the privacy of my co-wives. I closed my eyes, trying to filter out all distractions. Usually it is quite easy for me to connect with Jim; after all, he is usually doing most of the work. I tried to connect with his mind, but I found that I could not get there. "I... I can not!" I said, tears coming to my mind. "Calm down," ordered Debbie with a soothing voice. "It's obvious that he's still breathing. Are you sure you can't connect with him?" "I tried," I answered, feeling quite ineffective. "Let me try again." "Let's all try," Debbie said, and I could feel Debbie's determination. "Can you teach us how you do it?" Looking at Debbie, I realized that she had no idea how I actually connect with Jim, but she somehow realized that circumstances were extraordinary right now. Both Debbie and Mary knew that they we all needed to try. "May I try to connect with you two first?" I asked. "Of course," both girls answered in unison. I closed my eyes again. I tried to reach out, and found that I could now connect with Mary and Debbie. Inside the two girls' minds, I suggested, "Now let us all try together." My powers are minuscule compared to those that I have seen Jim display. I was afraid that the three of us would probably not be able to summon enough power together to connect with my beloved master. This was not a time for fatalistic thoughts, however. This was an emergency. From within Mary's mind, I sensed a connection to Jim that I could not make. It was a very faint connection, to be sure, but it was more than I was able to achieve on my own. Through this feeble connection in Mary's mind, the three of us managed to connect into Jim's mind. What I found was most discouraging. He seemed to be sleeping, but there didn't seem to be any other "thoughts" inside his mind. It was as if he was asleep, but not dreaming, not thinking of anything. "He's... he's sleeping, but it's as if he's not there," said Mary, softly. I was still inside Jim's mind, and I could hear the sound of Mary sniffing quietly. I had little experience in rooting around the minds of other people. I kept asking myself, "What would Jim do?" and could not figure an answer. Debbie's fingers on my shoulders started kneading the muscles in my neck and my back. I could feel how tense I was by the actions of her fingers, and I could feel her reassurances and drive. I continued to concentrate on looking around in Jim's mind for any trace of our husband, but the only signs of any presence was Mary's and Debbie's minds, also trying to probe. "We reached him," Debbie breathed quietly. I simply nodded in answer. "So where is he?" Debbie asked. Mary said quietly, "It's as if he's gone." I answered, "He could just be in a deep sleep." I wanted to assure my wives that what we were experiencing did not necessarily mean that anything was actually wrong with Jim, but since our minds were all merged in the mind of our master, I did not know if I could lie to them. "We all love him," I heard Mary think aloud. "Yes," I said, afraid to say any more. "You don't need to reassure us, Aimee." That thought startled me. I couldn't tell if it was Mary or Debbie that formed that thought. "I am... I am sorry..." I thought. "Don't be sorry." Again, I couldn't make out who formed that thought. All of a sudden, I understood it. It was Mary and Debbie thinking together, forming the thought as if they were of one mind. After collecting my thoughts, I finally asked, "What do we do now?" No answer. I am not a person that worries needlessly. I had no premonition that something bad would happen to Jim, so whatever was happening to him probably wasn't threatening his life, nor any of us. I knew that my concern was totally selfish--all of us were concerned about what the possible loss of our beloved husband would do to us. I realize that having Jim at the center of our lives made me and my two co-wives very vulnerable. If something should happen to him, our lives could be devastated. We were starting to feel that right now, with Jim looking like he was asleep but not being responsive to any stimulus. I was happy that Debbie and Mary had a special bond between them. Debbie and I have a similar bond, but it has never extended into the physical. Since Jim entered their lives, Debbie and Mary have grown very close together. I, on the other hand, had focused almost exclusively on Jim himself. Not having him around made me feel very helpless; more helpless than I can remember ever being, even after the death of my Aunt Tomeii in front of my helpless eyes. Luckily, Mary and Debbie knew this as well, and took charge. "Let's get to work." Once again, their two voices were acting as one. Before we left Jim's empty mind, I said, from the center of my being, "I will love you forever, my beloved Master!" Our minds disconnected from Jim's and the three of us were looking down once again at our husband's steady breathing. Every one of us, with the exception of Jim, had tears in our eyes. ------- I explained the dream that Jim and I had experienced before he had fallen into this dreamless state to Mary and Debbie. I also explained that I had sent an email to Mr. Voder. I had a copy of the message that I had sent and both Mary and Debbie read it. In fact, there was a reply from him that we all read. It was short and to the point, giving an address on Leesburg Pike in Falls Church, Virginia. "Could this Colonel DiPietro be the person that's following us? If so, then why?" Mary asked. I gave the only answer I had. "We must assume he knows about the power that Jim has. He probably wants the power himself, or he wants it for the government." "Baloney!" said Debbie, dismissively. "If they knew about his powers, they would never have released him from the hospital. Why are they interested now?" I made it a point not to answer that we had not been very clandestine about Jim's power. I could think back to a couple of incidents, like what happened in that park and our wedding reception. These things could all perk up interest in Jim or us as a whole. Even just the fact that we were all acting as his wives was unusual, even here in Utah. There was no need for assigning blame, especially when all four of us shared it. Mary was still talking. "You know, this is the strangest that it has ever been since he awoke from his coma--" "Coma!" I shouted, jumping out of my chair. "That's where he is right now!" Mary pulled me back. "No, Aimee. It's not the same as before. I know." "How do you know, Mary? What's different?" I asked. "When he was in a coma, his mind was still working," Mary explained. "He connected with me, remember? I thought it was just dreams... wishful thinking, even... but his mind must have been there. How else could he contact me in my dreams?" "Then what is it?" I asked, sitting back in my seat. "Exhaustion, perhaps?" Mary suggested. "Each time he uses his powers, it takes something from him. With one exception." "What exception?" I asked. "When he's with you, dear." "He got this way when he was with me!" I cried. "No," Mary shook her head. "I suspect that he must have somehow tapped into something a bit different. He once told me that he was able to visit almost any place that he'd ever been when he dreams. It doesn't take him much effort." "Yes. He told me that, too," I said. Mary smiled at me. "Think of the one place he went where he had never been before. It was this Colonel's office, right?" I thought about it, and nodded. "Think of what such a 'trip' must have cost him." I thought about it and then said, "Mary, you seem pretty confident about your knowledge of his powers." "I've been experiencing them for all those years when he was in his coma," Mary said, smiling. "I didn't think about it until more recently, but I still have the experience." "You said his trips take something from him, except when he is with me." "Yes," Mary said. "Debbie and I think you have a similar power, but it's different. I don't think he'd be able to do what he has done without you. It's like you are some sort of amplifier." I nodded. "Are you telling me that he likes me because of my power?" Mary looked at me and scolded, "Don't EVER say that, Aimee. He loves you because you are you. He loves you more than anything else, I think." I looked at Mary, trying to see if there was any jealousy or pity on her face. I did have a deep bond with Jim, but I had assumed that Debbie and especially Mary shared that same bond. "I am not jealous," Mary said, smiling. "I'm happy that Jim has found his perfect partner." "Partners," I corrected. "Partner," Mary insisted. "He loves you... and Debbie!" I said. "Yes. He does," Mary answered. I waited for Mary to continue. She didn't. I thought about Jim. I thought about Mary and Debbie. I thought about everything. Softly, Mary said, "You are so unique. You are so special." "We are all special because Jim loves us," I said, truly believing what I was saying. "Very true," Mary answered. For the first time, I felt the closeness that Mary and Debbie shared with one another. "You should sleep," Mary said. "You really need sleep." "No," I replied. "I will not sleep until our husband wakes." Mary looked sharply at me. I did not need to read her mind to understand her concern. She was thinking that it could be a long time. My silent reply, heard only within my own mind, was a repetition. "No matter what, I shall not sleep until our husband wakes." Something about Mary's explanation about fatigue made sense to me. I also had noticed Jim's fatigue, especially when we were together at the "grass shack" in Makena. "All right," I said. "Let's assume this is a temporary thing. Jim's simply exhausted. What do we do now?" "I say we get the mother-fuckers that are going after us!" Mary answered. I looked at my co-wife. There was a look in her eyes that told me that she was not just kidding. Debbie looked concerned, but Mary spoke again. "They are following us. We are investigating them. There isn't very much more that we can do in Utah." "So we go to Washington and kick butt?" Debbie asked, getting into Mary's mood, and I could feel myself react to Debbie's determination. "No," Mary replied, shaking her head. "We go there and get some answers." "Aimee, do I have any property in that area?" Debbie asked. I already knew the answer. "There is a place in Georgetown. That should be pretty convenient." "I do?" Debbie asked, looking at me. "One of these days, Aimee, you'll have to let me know all the places my father collected." Without thinking, I said, "The Georgetown place was going to be a graduation present for you, Debbie. He never actually lived there. I don't know if it's even furnished." Immediately, I regretted saying that to my co-wife. I saw the look of loss in her eyes at the indirect mention of her father. Mary also seemed to feel Debbie's loss. As I said, she and Debbie were very close, and if I could sense Debbie's moods, Mary almost certainly could. Mary decided to change the subject. "Should one of us stay here for when Jim wakes up?" I knew that this was Mary's subtle way of telling me that I should probably stay behind, as much as I wanted to help end this harassment and invasion of our privacy. I nodded, once again a bit envious about the closeness that Mary and Debbie shared. I hoped that they would be enough to get whatever job that needed to be done completed. "No," Debbie said, surprising me. "We all go. The four of us." "Debbie," I said, "Jim is not conscious right now. We would make a scene trying to get him on an airliner. That would alert whoever is looking for us." "No worries," Debbie answered. "Put him on a stretcher or a wheelchair and have Mely and June meet us at the airport. I think our little ruse has already caused enough confusion to the people following us." Maybe Debbie was correct. I figured that whoever had been following June and Mely's flight plan would almost certainly know that we were not with them. Maybe they were no longer being followed. That idea was rejected soundly by Mary. "That just won't work. If the government has people following them, they will not stop following them just because we're not with them. If anything, wherever Mely and June stop, they will be followed and their location will be bugged. No matter how we contact them, the communication will be monitored and our location will be revealed." I sighed and looked at Mary for help. She had a military background, but I never really checked that out before, since I didn't think it had been important. I made a mental note to find out more about Mary's service in the military. Mary thought for a while and then said, "All right. We can get to Washington and meet up somewhere. The government may know where Debbie's properties are, and may even now be looking for us here." I got a sinking feeling at that. "So what do we do?" asked Debbie. "Split up, but meet in Virginia," Mary suggested. "Arrive in Baltimore International, Dulles, and Washington National on separate flights. Aimee goes with Jim, Debbie and I separate. Since Dulles is probably closest, Aimee and Jim will go there since he will be the hardest to move. Aimee will find transportation to the closest Holiday Inn to Falls Church. Debbie and I will choose which airport we'll take at random. We'll meet at the same motel. Aimee... ask for two double or queen size beds... something big enough for all four of us. How much cash do we have?" "Eight hundred and twenty," I said automatically. Mary winced. "That will get us to Washington. That may not be enough for the other incidentals, like food, cab fare, lodging..." "Go on the cheap," Debbie suggested. "Use bus fare instead of taxis. Washington has a good mass transit system, I think. Don't they?" "How much do we trust this Mr. Voder?" Mary asked me. "If we cannot trust him, we're already screwed," I stated. "Can he arrange for us to get money in Washington?" "He might be able to contact Charles Penet to wire us money. Holiday Inn might accept Western Union." Debbie shook her head. "You need positive identification for Western Union." "How about sending money from Malen to Mr. Voder and having him deliver it to Holiday Inn?" I thought. "He doesn't do face to face. He might deliver it to us if we give him the name we will use. What name would be good for me?" Mary smiled. "When I first met you, you reminded me of a friend named Patricia." "Patricia James it is," I said. I loved using the name of my beloved Master, as well as Debbie's father. "All right," Mary said, taking charge again. "Before getting to the airport, stop at a uniform store and get a nurse's outfit. You'll also need to find a collapsible wheelchair. A stretcher will probably need some sort of doctor's references. A wheelchair is quite common in airports." Debbie said, "What should I do?" "We'll go to the airport together, but take different flights. You can route from here to the mid-west, and from there, route to National or Baltimore. It will be twice as difficult to follow that way. Take public transportation to Falls Church and find the Holiday Inn." "And you?" Debbie asked. "I'll route through a city on the east coast, and from there to Baltimore. Same deal." "So... Chicago and New York?" Debbie asked. "No," Mary said, looking our co-wife sternly. "Make the decision on the intermediate stop when you make the reservation at the airport. Find out what's there, and what's affordable. Pick whatever is convenient. Remember, any information that is only known by one person cannot be compromised by another." I thought Mary was correct in her paranoia, and considered that both of them knew the almost the exact itinerary for Jim and me, but since I had the incapacitated Jim, it was obvious that I needed to use the most direct route. I considered switching my destination as well, as some of Mary's paranoia was starting to rub off on me. I felt that same paranoia inside Jim's head before and it was a comforting memory for me. There was something that calmed that paranoia, though: there was nothing that Debbie or Mary could do that would betray Jim--and therefore the two of us--in any way. "He'll be all right," Mary said to me. "I know," I said, sighing. "I do not see any harm coming to him or any of us." "He loves you, Aimee," Mary said, looking deep within my eyes. "He loves all of us," I answered. Mary looked at me and said, carefully. "He loves you, Aimee. He loves you in a way that neither Debbie nor I can ever be loved by him." "I am but his third wife," I said, tears welling up in my eyes. "Not in his heart, dear." As Mary left the room, I started sobbing, quietly. I left the room briefly to send a quick email of explanation to Mr. Voder and quickly returned to the room to start packing our bags. ------- Waiting is sometimes lonely, especially when my Master is lying in a dreamless state. I try to think of other things in order to pass the time. I realize that I never did write about the origin of my name. It is a common one, for sure, but it was my Aunt Tomeii that suggested that name. Originally, my first name had an apostrophe (or is it an acute accent?) after or on the second to last letter, which is the traditional way to spell my name: Aime'e. In grammar school, I had taken to leaving that accent off, something my aunt laughingly (but not disapprovingly) referred to as Anglicizing my name, since the accent served mostly to confuse teachers, students, and friends. For instance, in Hawaiian, the backward quote (called 'okina) is a common diacritical mark that usually means a tiny pause in between syllables, so people that could read Hawaiian would almost always mispronounce my name. When I was very young, I had even considered spelling my name "Amy" but the pronunciation of my name is just slightly different enough than what that spelling of the shorter name would imply. Also, my Aunt disapproved. I realize that I mention my aunt often when I record my thoughts. Since I have plenty of time right now, I feel it is again time to write about her. Aunt Tomeii was my mother's older sister, and she was a very influential person in my mother's life, and she also came to be the most influential person in the first fifteen years of my own life. My Aunt Tomeii taught me very many things, including some of the old legends, most of which she firmly believed. It was my Aunt Tomeii that showed me that I was special and that I had the gift of insight. Without actually telling me how, she helped me develop my gift. My mother, who didn't believe in the legends, thought this was a harmless preoccupation on both of our parts. Mother humored the two of us without prohibiting it, as long as I did my chores and school work properly. I have many fond memories of my Aunt Tomeii, but there is one story that is probably the most important and corresponds with the last time I saw my aunt. I was pleading with my aunt not to go to the market to get food for dinner. I just knew that something bad would happen, and didn't want her to go outside. Despite my misgivings, Aunt Tomeii assured me, saying, "Aimee, my beloved, sometimes it takes wisdom to understand that good and bad are not always things that are separate. Sometimes, they are interwoven like the pattern on a spiral. If you remove the black--the bad--you get a white circle. In doing so, you remove the beauty of the spiral. In other words, sometimes you need to have the bad. People always ask if there is a loving God, why does that being allow for pain? Those people are just looking at the black and miss the point. If you instead think of the pattern of the spiral, where good and bad interact, you will find the meaning. Sometimes, one has to risk the bad in order to achieve the necessary good." "I don't understand," I said, something I was quite used to saying to her. "You will understand, Aimee," Aunt Tomeii chuckled. "You have a gift of insight, and even now, you can feel the truth of my words." Aunt Tomeii kissed me and left for the market, despite my warnings. So great was my fear that something would happen, I felt that I needed to spy on my aunt. I followed her, keeping a large distance between us. I admit it was out of morbid curiosity, since I had come to trust my instincts. I knew something was going to happen--maybe I could prevent it. At one point during her walk, my aunt stopped suddenly, turned around, and looked directly at the tree that I was standing behind. She smiled, as if she knew that I was there even if she couldn't see me, and then turned to continue her walk. A few minutes later, I saw my aunt rush out into the main road. She had seen a child chasing a ball into the street. I watched in horror as my Aunt Tomeii pushed the little boy out of the way, forfeiting her own life as a quickly moving truck couldn't stop in time to avoid hitting her. My first thoughts were to blame myself for her death. After all, I knew something would happen, and I had followed her in a vain attempt to prevent it. However, a lot of my aunt's lessons to me over the years came to mind, especially her last words to me before she had left. I also knew that self blame was a luxury that my aunt did not allow me. I still found myself crying inconsolably after the loss of my aunt, but tried--really tried--to see where the white existed in this particular spiral. I knew that this was my aunt's final lesson to me, and only recently have I ever seen beyond the black in that particular spiral. My aunt knew that she needed to be where she was in order to spare the life of that child. She willingly did so, her humor never leaving her, even though she knew that she was going to be required to make a sacrifice. The boy that she had pushed out of the way was alive, and may still be alive today for all I know. I never did keep track of the boy--nothing inside me told me that it I needed to do so. For all I know, he might be a firefighter that remembered my Aunt's sacrifice and single-handedly saves the lives of hundreds of people. He could also be a simple hard-working man with a family who just gets by from day to day, not knowing that perhaps one of his children, or his children's children, may reach greatness. I knew that I didn't need to question it; I fully trusted my Aunt Tomeii and her own gift of insight. At my aunt's funeral, where I was asked to spread her ashes into the Pacific Ocean, I resolved that I would have the presence of mind to act unhesitatingly for the very ideals that she had taught me, no matter what the cost. To do anything less would be the ultimate disrespect to my aunt's memory. I don't write about this very often, mostly because even now, over ten years later, that memory still hurts. I never even told my mother, who never really believed in my premonitions. I doubt whether my companions right now will understand it themselves; I see that they tend to humor me when I start to talk about the gifts in any detail. For that reason, I haven't seen a need to tell this story to my husband or co-wives yet. I've opened my mind to everybody, but I've never volunteered the story, and nobody ever mentioned my aunt to me. I'm not sure why I'm actually writing this right now, but I feel that this is a part of me that needs to be known, maybe just to honor my Aunt Tomeii. To this day, I still pray to the spirit of my Aunt Tomeii when I need guidance in difficult situations, and I believe that at least that part of her spirit that remains in my memories of her helps guide me to make the correct decisions in my life. I hope that I might one day fulfill my own destiny with the grace, humility, and honor that my Aunt Tomeii displayed. I have always loved you, my beloved Aunt Tomeii. May your ashes find a strong current and keep circling the our beloved ocean forever! ------- It was decided that I take the rental car to the city. I had Jim lying down in the back, still fast asleep. I stopped at a uniform store and got a nurse's outfit. I had a little more than half our available cash, and I tried to avoid spending money needlessly. I rented a collapsible wheelchair from a pharmacy and stored it in the trunk of the car. Debbie and Mary would be leaving after me, having Andrea drive them to the city. Andrea actually had a doctor's appointment there, having taken Jim's advice, and she had been be happy to be able to take them to the airport. I returned the rental car, and they offered to drive my "patient" and I to the main terminal. A person from the rental company helped me get Jim into his new wheelchair, and a special bus arrived that was able to transport it. At the airport, I looked at the departure monitors and picked the first flight to Dulles, thinking that if I cannot trust my co-wives, then Jim and I were already doomed. I stopped at the appropriate airline counter, and made reservations in the name of Patricia James. To my surprise, I found that I already had reservations. I was stunned--where did they come from? Was Mr. Voder trying to trap me? If so, it was an expensive trap... the tickets were first class and made out to Patricia James and an unnamed party of three. I tried to hide my surprise. I explained that due to unforeseen circumstances, two of my companions wouldn't be traveling with me, and gave a phony name for Jim to the ticket agent, who needed it for the paperwork. According to the ticket agent, there was a package that had been left there for me. I was apprehensive as she left, but she quickly returned with a sealed envelope. I took the envelope and placed it in my purse. The ticket agent helped me transfer Jim to an airport wheelchair, and we checked the collapsible one as baggage to Washington. Jim and I got to the gate without any mishap, and since Jim was incapacitated and in a wheelchair, and also due to the fact that we had first class tickets, we were given quite preferential treatment. I looked at the envelope that I had been given and broke the seal. Inside was a driver's license with my picture that had the name "Patricia James." The birth date was a little more than a year before my actual birthday, and it listed an address in Vermont as my residence. This would be useful for renting cars, assuming that the "Patricia James" alias remained safe. There was also a small stack of fifty and twenty dollar bills. The flight was uneventful, and when we arrived at Dulles, an airline employee was waiting with a new wheelchair for Jim. I still had most of the money that I had when I started out, plus the money from Mr. Voder. It was easy to hire a sky cap to get us transportation to Falls Church. At the Holiday Inn, I found that there were steps leading up to the entrance to the hotel. The cab driver helped me get Jim up the steps, and I was also helped by a kind gentleman that saw us struggle. We got Jim up without incident. I went to the front desk, and found, to my dismay, that there were no rooms available. There were no vacancies! I silently said a prayer to my late Aunt Tomeii for help and wondered what to do next. I asked if there were any messages for me, and found there was one from a Victor Oder. I realized that this was a name that was familiar. The message simply directed me to a restaurant that was nearby. I wasn't sure what was going on, but I trusted Mr. Voder implicitly. I was about to wheel Jim back down those front steps, when I got an idea. I asked the clerk if anybody asked for me to please direct them to that same restaurant. I hoped that this message would get to Mary and Debbie. I realized now that it was a good thing that Mary and Debbie knew my "code name." The restaurant was located in a Sheraton motel, and I looked in the restaurant, which was mostly empty. I wondered why Mr. Voder had suggested this restaurant, and realized that the front desk at the Sheraton might have another message for me. Indeed there was. Patricia James had an entire suite reserved. All I needed to do was to show my identification and sign in. A porter took Jim's wheelchair and accompanied me into the elevator and then into the suite. The two of us moved my husband from the wheelchair to the bed, where he remained sleeping. I handed the porter a twenty dollar bill for his help. ------- The phone in the room rang two hours later. It was Debbie. She had gotten my message at the Holiday Inn and wanted to know what I wanted her to do. I told her to meet me in my room and she arrived a few minutes later. I felt Debbie's concern when she saw that Jim was still unconscious, but I assured her that I still didn't feel any apprehension for him. When Mary didn't arrive an hour or so later, Debbie decided to go back to the Holiday Inn. It was a lucky thing that she did. The message left by "Patricia James" was apparently no longer there at the front desk, and Mary had simply stayed at the location, choosing a place at the bar where she nursed a drink or two, checking the lobby every five or ten minutes. Debbie must have felt Mary's presence, because she found Mary almost immediately at the bar. Debbie quickly brought Mary back to the Sheraton. In the suite, the three of us hugged very tightly. "Still nothing?" Mary asked, concerned. I shook my head, but at that moment, I felt something touch me. It was very faint, and I thought I might be imagining things when I felt it again... I looked at Jim. I still didn't have that feeling that he was completely in my mind, but something had changed. Without hesitation, I reached into his mind, which seemed a bit more active. In fact, he was thinking about the moon and stars... I knew from Jim and Mary how they originally "met" (when she hit him with a jeep!), and the connection they made was that they were both looking in the sky late at night. He was reliving that starry scene in his mind. "Jim's back!" I said, excited. "I mean, he's not completely back, but he's dreaming!" Unfortunately, things went black for me right after that. ------- I woke up, and found myself nude in a bed in a motel room. I realized that I was in the suite. As if on cue, Jim walked in. "Wakey, wakey, sleepy head!" "What happened?" I asked, and was amazed at how groggy my voice sounded. "Mary and Debbie seem to think that you had been awake for nearly fifty hours straight." "You're all right!" I said, seeing my husband in his usual cheerful mood. "I think my brain needed a recharge. I woke up and saw the two girls holding you. Apparently, you had collapsed after shouting something about me. I saw them and I reached out to them with my mind, and they turned around and called me. I was concerned, since you looked unconscious, but it was obvious--at least to me--that you were just sleeping. That's when Mary told me how long you had been awake. You're simply amazing, my love!" I was quite hungry and thirsty. "Debbie and Mary are fetching you some breakfast right now, Aimee. Don't get up. You've been sleeping for eighteen hours." "Eighteen hours?" I asked. I normally don't sleep that long, but I had missed a couple of days' sleep. "It's a little past noon," Jim said, looking at his watch. "Actually, almost twelve thirty. As soon as I realized that you were waking up, I sent Debbie and Mary to get you some nourishment. I knew that when I woke up, I was quite hungry myself." I simply nodded. I was very hungry. "I will love you forever, Master," I said softly. "I love you, my darling Aimee." We simply looked at one another, saying nothing... thinking nothing... just looking at each other. Thoughts may have passed between us, but we ignored them. We felt each other's thoughts, but paid them no heed. We were just feeling the moment, simply enjoying each other. "Oh, shit," I heard a voice say. "Now they're both got that blank look on them." Without breaking our contact, Jim sent a message of love to both of our other wives. As one, Debbie and Mary left a tray of food on the dresser and left the room. I ate a cold breakfast at two-thirty. I'm not sure what Jim and I said, but we just were looking at each other, enjoying each other, feeling each other. We were sharing. It was like sex, but without the physical sensation. I cannot describe it any other way. ------- Jim took a nap after I left the bed. I smiled as he took the same side of the bed that I had occupied earlier. I gave him one last loving look when I left the bedroom. Our husband is sure cute when he sleeps, even if he manages to scare me half to death! Debbie and Mary looked at me when I entered the living room. "He's taking a nap," I said. Debbie nodded. "We've lost some time." "Time is our friend," I said, smiling. "Time is not our friend, Aimee," Mary said, sternly. "They will find us. It's only a matter of time. The people that are looking for us are not stupid, and we are not professionals at eluding those kinds of people. They will know the rental car was returned. You should have left the car in long term parking. It would have been longer before they realized that we had used the airport. I only realized that when I was at Newark." "There is no danger right now," I assured Mary. She looked at me. I looked back at her, and I opened my mind to her. Mary's eyes grew wide as she realized that I was letting her in without warning. I didn't enter her mind, but I allowed her to enter mine. I had no secrets from my wives, nor from our husband. After a moment, Mary lowered her eyes. "We may indeed be in no danger right now," she finally stated. "That can change, Aimee. We should not be foolhardy." I simply nodded. Mary was a take-charge type of person, and I didn't want to upset her feeling of her place within our little family. I thought a quick flash of love toward her and she smiled at me. "You were sweet when you told me what you said yesterday," I said to Mary. "That you aren't third in his heart?" Mary asked. "It's perfectly obvious to me." "He was meant for us all. We all were meant for him." "What if Debbie and I were just a means for him to find you?" Mary asked. "Mary, you don't believe in God," I pointed out. "You do not believe in predestination." "Neither do I," Debbie replied, looking at me. "The important part is that you believe in it, Aimee." "We need transportation," I said, changing the subject. "Limo drivers don't mind working for cash," Debbie said. "Mr. Voder arranged this room," I said. "In addition, he booked my flight with Jim at the airport, and even left me a package containing cash and a driver's license in the name of Patricia James. We might as well trust him. If had been going to betray us, he could have done it a lot easier by simply having us met at the airport yesterday." "Can you get in touch with this person?" Mary asked. "When it is the right time, he will contact us," I said, confidently. "How do you know that?" Mary asked. "Because I know it also," came a male voice behind me. My husband had come out from his nap. Without turning around, I smiled at my two wives, and sent a quick message of love to my beloved. ------- "Mary, I agree with Aimee about this Mr. Voder," Jim said. "We talked about this yesterday while you were asleep, Aimee. Mary needs to see that he has been extremely helpful up to now. We should not, however, blindly trust anybody else outside our family." "I know why Aimee trusts him," Mary said. "Do you trust him also just because your wife trusts him?" Jim winced when Mary referred to me as his wife, as if that title didn't apply to her. His eyes flashed, and Mary's eyes looked down. Something had exchanged between them. "I have known a few people that match the description that Aimee gives me about this Mr. Voder," he said. Mary said softly, her eyes still lowered, "I have known such people, too." "Master?" I said. "Yes, Aimee?" "May I humbly suggest something?" I know that Jim sometimes has a problem with me when I call him that word, and speak like that, especially in front of others, even his wives. I used that knowledge to convey the importance of what I was about to say. For the first time since he had awakened, I felt him quickly pull out of my mind. He knew that I had something important to say, and he wanted to hear it instead of pulling it from my mind. Jim is very kind like that. I tried to refocus on what I needed to say. "You may," Jim said, simply. I took a deep breath. "Let's take some time off. The three of us have been sick with worry about you, even though I knew you weren't in danger. I still don't feel any imminent danger." Jim didn't answer me. Instead, he waited. He knew there was more coming. I turned to Debbie and said, "Debbie, our husband needs to spend some time with his first wife. Let us take a walk." Debbie's confusion was palpable, and she didn't answer. She did stand up and nodded at me. Without looking at my husband, I walked toward the door to the suite, and opened the door. Debbie walked out. Just before I left, I turned to my husband and said slowly, spacing out my words slowly to convey the gravity of the situation. "Debbie and I will meet you for dinner tomorrow. Expect a phone call late in the afternoon. In the meantime, you need to apologize to the woman that pulled you out of your coma, and who is willing to walk naked into the den of the dragon with nothing more than her fingernails. If I see the two of you tomorrow and am not satisfied that you have done your best, then it will be the last time you will ever see me again." I closed the door behind me, unaware that I had my hands clenched into a fist. I opened my fingers and saw that my fingernails had dug into my palm, actually drawing blood. Debbie was staring at me as if I had gone certifiably insane. I pointed a bloody finger toward the elevator and said, "Let's depart. Our Master is going to be very busy. I have plenty of money thanks to Mr. Voder. Let's find another hotel for tonight, Debbie." "Yes, Master," Debbie said, almost inaudibly. Inside my head, I felt the tears that I refused to let my eyes shed. I knew that I had given an ultimatum to my Master, and that if I followed through on my threat, I would end my own life moments afterward. I loved my Master more than life itself, but the Master I loved was the most loving Master a person could ever have. I cannot, and I most definitely will not, serve a cruel Master. Ever since the first time I ever laid eyes on Jim, my instincts told me that he was a good person. I still felt that way. I realized that sometimes, Jim just needed to be reminded that he was such a person. Debbie and I took a cab and I picked a town name at random and told the driver to take us into Arlington. I could feel Debbie's mood--she was sick with worry and very confused. I tried to think of words to reassure her, but I knew that words wouldn't help. We found an expensive hotel in Arlington, and we rented a suite, paying cash. Debbie and I sat on the sofa, neither one of us talking. I know that what had transpired between our husband, our co-wife, was very much in the forefront of our minds. I thought about my Aunt Tomeii and thought about the new spiral that I had created. I tried to see if I could find the white in that spiral, but the only white I could see was simply hope. Eventually, I broke the silence to pick up the phone and order room service. The waitress that arrived did not seem too surprised to see two nude women sitting in the living room without any shyness. We silently let her set up the service. We paid for the service with cash, leaving quite a generous tip. Debbie and I ate without saying a word. Neither of us was particularly hungry. Afterward, I took Debbie's hand and led her to the bedroom. I did my level best to make Debbie feel as loved as she did when she was with Jim or with Mary. I am by no means an expert in making love to a woman, but I tried as hard as I could. Eventually, I felt Debbie start to react. By morning the next day, I had learned a considerable deal in the art of giving and receiving love from my co-wife; a lesson that I hoped, one day, I would share with my other co-wife, and even, perhaps, my Master. During our lovemaking, we shared an emotional contact within each other's minds. We were both hungry, and were using the physical love we were sharing to take our minds from that hunger. I know that there was an emptiness within my soul that I tried my best to ignore. There was a Jim-sized hole that I prayed endlessly to the spirit of my Aunt Tomeii would once again be re-filled. I could feel a similar emptiness within Debbie, and our lovemaking was very vigorous to help us to at least temporarily take our minds off the pain. After we got up, I made reservations for four at a rather expensive restaurant called the Brasserie at the Watergate. The reservations were for a party of four, and I could feel Debbie's apprehension as I gave the count. At noon, after Debbie and I shared a very long and sensuous shower, we went shopping and then visited the Lincoln Memorial, where I stared at the statue of the great man. Debbie seemed affected by the Memorial as well, as I could feel her melancholy as she perhaps thought of the sacrifice that this man ultimately paid to help restore this country onto the path of greatness. It was nearly five thirty before either Debbie or I actually exchanged a word. We hadn't spoken to each other since we were waiting for the elevator at the Sheraton. Somehow, no words needed to be spoken. ------- Chapter 15 "Life is very short, and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friends..." I admit it. Sometimes, I'm an asshole. Actually, that's really not much of an admission, so let me try that again. I admit it. On more than one occasion, I have found that I can become the biggest asshole in existence. We had been in the process of deciding what we were going to do, now that we were all together in Washington, and I was explaining to Mary that I trusted Aimee's investigator, a Mr. Voder. I was quite taken aback when Mary asked me if I only trusted Mr. Voder because Aimee trusted him. It wasn't the fact that she asked me that question, but it was the way she referred to Aimee using the words "your wife," implying that she and perhaps Debbie weren't as important to me. I had known that Mary sometimes felt a bit unsure of her role in our relationship, but at the moment, I didn't want to take the time to deal with this. The result was that I ended up doing something extremely stupid. My angry and unthinking response was to send a terse message mentally to Mary: "Have you decided to leave this relationship?" As soon as I did it, I saw Mary's reaction. She lowered her eyes. Immediately, I realized that I had crossed a line that I had promised myself that I would never cross. I had made a bald, out and out threat to a person that I truly loved! What had I done? What kind of asshole was I? Aimee said, almost too quietly, "Master?" "Yes, Aimee?" I asked, hoping that she hadn't caught my careless slip. After all, it had been a mental thought between Mary and me. "May I humbly suggest something?" Oh, shit. Aimee was using her slave persona in front of my other wives. Aimee was submissive deep down, but it was a part of her that she only shared with me. I knew that the other girls normally act submissive with me, although they used to call me "Master." Aimee's doing so now was her unsubtle way of trying to get my attention. It also told me that my thoughtlessness with Mary had not gone unnoticed. I held my breath. "You may," I said carefully, not wanting to let too much emotion rush out. Aimee took a deep breath and said, "Let's take some time off. The three of us have been sick with worry about you, even though I personally knew that you hadn't been in any danger. There's still no imminent danger for any of us right now." Slowly, I let my breath out. Aimee might want to talk with me alone. I knew that I needed to talk with Mary alone as well. It was obvious that Aimee hadn't finished, yet. She had a look on her face that told me that she just reached a decision. I knew something important was about to happen, so I just listened, waiting for her to speak again. "Debbie," Aimee said, turning to my other wife. "Our husband needs to spend some time with his first wife." She pointedly emphasized the word "first." "Let's take a walk." I felt a bit of relief. Aimee was going to give Mary and I some time alone so I could apologize to her. Aimee was always a very smart person--one of the smartest I've met in this life. Debbie nodded slightly in response. I hadn't seen any indication from Debbie that she knew what I had "said" to Mary, but I knew that Debbie almost certainly saw Mary's reaction. Mary and Debbie were very close; Mary acted much like a mother to Debbie. Aimee walked toward the door, not bothering to look at me. I knew that I would have to spend some time alone with her. For a person that has a submissive side, Aimee was quite capable of giving orders. As Aimee went to close the door, she paused. She turned around, and for the first time in my life, I saw my Aimee's face completely free of all emotion. It was as if I was looking at one of those porcelain china doll masks (I know I keep on mixing Asian and Polynesian metaphors when referring to Aimee, but that was the image I had). Aimee's face had absolutely no expression on it at all. Again, I held my breath. Aimee was going to say something, and it would be important. Everything went silent. If this had been a movie, you might hear crickets chirping. Aimee quietly released her bombshell. Each word was enunciated perfectly and free of any emotional content--almost strained. "Debbie and I will meet you for dinner tomorrow. In the meantime, you need to apologize to the woman that pulled you out of your coma, and who is willing to walk nude into the dungeon of the dragon with no weapons other than her fingernails. If I see you tomorrow and I'm not satisfied that you have done your duty, then it will be the last time you will ever see me again." My jaw dropped, but Aimee wasn't interested in my reaction. She simply turned as soon as she said her piece and closed the door. My mind couldn't comprehend what had just happened. Aimee had just walked out on me! It was a few moments before I remembered to breathe again. Mary said, "You know, I didn't think it was possible for you to anger her. You may have lost your true love forever." Would Aimee really leave me? Could she? Was it within her power? Somehow, I knew the answer to those three questions was "yes." Aimee was a very strong-willed individual. She could easily walk out of my life and I would never, ever, hear from her again. However, there was something new that was bothering me now. Something important. "Mary," I said. "You are wrong. My true love consists of three wonderful wives. For me, true love can not exist without all three of you together." Mary didn't say anything. I had withdrawn from all three of my wives' minds after I made that stupid threat to Mary, but I didn't need to read Mary's mind in order to know that she didn't believe my last statement in the least. I can't truthfully say that I had been unaware of Mary's doubts. I had known about her feelings, especially once Aimee had became an official part of our relationship. Nevertheless, Mary had never outwardly seemed to let it bother her. She seemed to willingly give Aimee and I our time alone, just as I gave Debbie and Mary their time alone. I had apparently interpreted this incorrectly as not being a real problem and something that I could deal with at a later time. It turns out that I had been very wrong. I had to admit that I did feel that Aimee was something special. Of all the people I knew, she had known and outwardly sensed my special gift without me somehow interacting with her first. This was something that nobody else had ever done before or since. It was now clear that Mary's doubt really ran deep. It was obvious that Mary thought that perhaps she--and maybe even Debbie--might have been mere stepping stones for me to eventually find Aimee. If that was the case, then I knew that I had done both Mary and Debbie a great disservice. Did I really act like I loved Aimee more than either of my other wives? I thought about my actions and can see where it could have looked that way. I truly loved Aimee, but that was also true for Mary and Debbie as well. Aimee and I had a close bond, but I also had a very close one with Mary as well. I had seen Mary in my mind before I had even come out of my coma. Aimee also mentioned that Mary had been responsible for pulling me out of my coma when she left the room just now. I had never really discussed my personal relationship with Mary with any of my other wives, mostly out of respect for her privacy. Aimee, however, seemed to know that all this and had pointed out that Mary was indeed very special. While Aimee was catching up on her sleep the previous day, Mary and Debbie had filled me in with what had gone on in my "absence." Mary had come up with a pretty good plan to go after the people looking for us, rather than sit around and wait to be discovered. She had shown extreme courage in coming to Falls Church, which was probably where this Colonel DiPietro was located. Aimee's description of Mary's cool courage in the sight of a faceless and possibly well organized enemy was correct. Once again, I was surprised at how easily Aimee could look right into the soul of another person. She sensed Mary's doubts, as well as the fact that when faced with a decision, Mary had a very logical and intelligent head on her shoulders. I didn't realize it, but tears were flowing down my face freely. Mary moved close to me and held me close. "Aimee won't leave you, Jim. She loves you." I shook my head. Mary still didn't realize why I was upset. "No, Mary. You've got it all wrong. Aimee may be angry at me, but that's not why I'm upset." I felt, rather than saw, Mary simply shake her head. "I'm upset at myself, Mary, because I have failed you." I held Mary close to me and wondered how I would fix up this big mess. ------- Aimee had ordered me to "do my duty" to Mary. As I said before, despite being a submissive deep down, Aimee didn't hesitate to give orders herself, especially when she knew without any doubt that she was correct. An important part of my duty to Mary was to make her know how I felt about her, and for Mary to know it as deeply and as completely that Aimee did. I had no idea how to do it, or if I could even do it. How does one prove oneself to another? If Mary had doubts about how I felt about her, then those doubts were probably due to my own behavior toward her. I was the cause of those doubts, and I needed to erase them. Of course, you might think that being able to root around in Mary's mind and even change things around, you might think that this was an easy problem for me to solve. That is completely and utterly wrong! There is no way that you can force a person to trust you. People just don't work that way. Either a person trusts you, or that person doesn't. If it's somebody you have a relationship with, you really need to earn their trust. If somebody trusts you and you betray that trust, then that person will never trust you again. I have always believed that forgiving a betrayer is just giving permission for that person to betray you again. If I force Mary to believe that I loved her, then I would be betraying her trust. She might believe what I force her to believe, but in doing so, she will have lost that spark that made Mary that unique individual that she is and that I love. It would destroy her soul, for lack of a better word. Don't let anybody ever tell you differently: there is no fucking way to force anybody to trust you. Trust must always be earned, or it is meaningless and, more importantly, useless. My only hope is that I hadn't yet betrayed Mary's trust. I had threatened her, but I never had any intention to follow through on it. If Mary didn't think I betrayed her trust, then I may still have a way to fix her doubts right now, especially if her doubts were based simply on insecurity. Maybe, all I'd need to do is to find out how we can get beyond that insecurity. To do this, there was only one solution. Mary and I needed to talk. This was definitely not a time for those "Jedi Mind Tricks" from that movie that I had watched back in Utah with my three wives. This was serious, and as Aimee pointed out, it needed to be done now. In retrospect, it was interesting how much I was focused on Mary's trust. I had been talking about trust right before I made that stupid mental jab at Mary. I took many deep breaths, trying to bring my emotions under control. I refused to wipe the tears off my face but I willed myself to calm down. It took time. Finally, I managed to get myself under control. I pulled away from our embrace, and looked at my first wife. Mary, that extraordinary woman that actually managed to somehow pull me out of a coma, was an emotional wreck. She looked confused and I could see that she was also trying to get herself steady. I wished that I could enter her mind and tell her that everything would be all right. I wanted to wipe those tears from her face and shower her with kisses all over her body. I wanted to hug her and tell her the bogey man was all gone and her life would be lived happily ever after. How did I deserve woman as wonderful as Mary, and how could I carelessly just ignore her feelings and possibly drive her away? The previous day, when I woke up from my exhausted sleep, I saw an unconscious Aimee in the arms of Mary, who was holding her like a mother would hold a daughter. Mary had her arms around Aimee's head protectively, Aimee's face was resting against Mary's breast. I remembered thinking how mother-like Mary was, protecting her co-wife and good friend. I had seen Mary do this before with Debbie, and I think Mary thought of her relationship with my two other wives to be like she was a mother to them, especially due to the fact that she was almost ten years older than either of the other two. It was quite obvious that Mary truly loved Aimee, and Aimee loved her back. When Aimee was unconscious in Mary's arms, I felt within Aimee's mind and found that she was merely asleep, dreaming of a moonlit sky. Both Debbie and Aimee had been worried sick about Aimee. Apparently, they thought that Aimee might be having the same "dreamless sleep" that I had undergone for a few days. I reassured Mary and Debbie that Aimee was really dreaming, and Debbie explained to me how Aimee had been without sleep all the while that I had been unconscious. I noticed now that there was something was odd about Aimee's dreaming. As I said, she was dreaming of a moonlit sky. It was a dream I had constantly... the sky as it appeared to me the instant before I was hit by a jeep. There was no way that Aimee had experienced that image first hand, and since it was a common dream for me, I initially figured that it was a dream that she had witnessed when our minds had merged together. However, I was now reexamining that dream that Aimee had. Thinking about Aimee dreaming about the sky, I glanced at Mary. Aimee's dream was some sort of clue, but I had no idea what it meant. What was so special about that dream? Aside from the fact that it was a second-hand dream--one that Aimee had seen in my mind--something was nagging at me that I was missing something important. Thinking back to the previous day, I realized that her dream was almost perfectly identical to the one that I had. Was there a subtle difference in the dream Aimee had from mine? After thinking about her dream for a few moments, I thought that maybe it wasn't the difference in the dreams, after all. Maybe I was just groggy from waking up from the long period of unconsciousness. Maybe the difference was just the fact that I misread Aimee's dream. Suddenly, I had another thought: What if the clue was just the fact that Aimee just simply had that particular dream? I still vividly remember that dream. It seems to last forever and is very peaceful. My mind refuses to acknowledge anything that happened immediately after I had seen the moon and stars, something the doctors called traumatic amnesia (or was that post-traumatic?). The way they described it, my brain doesn't want to remember certain horrible events, so it locks the memories away. Instead, my brain focuses on the happier memory about the moon and the stars, and it plays it over and over in a seemingly endless loop, a peaceful dance in my brain that replays over and over a wonderful moment... That's it... it was a wonderful moment! I remember Mary being surprised after I woke up from my coma and told her that I had been looking at the stars before I had gotten hit by the jeep. She said she had been doing the exact same thing. At the time, I thought it was because Mary had been looking at the stars, she didn't see where she was driving and hit me. How else was I supposed to take it? Could I have been missing the point all along? What if, in that moment before that jeep hit my body causing my head to hit the pavement and the tires to roll over my ribs (I read the accident report)... what if Mary and I had connected, just for that brief moment? All along, I had thought that my connection with Mary, Debbie, and even Aimee had been due to the fractured skull that resulted after the Jeep hit me. Now, it was obvious that if that had been so, any connection to Mary should have occurred AFTER my head hit the ground. That wasn't the case! As I mentioned, I have no memory of my head hitting the ground... instead, my only conscious memory is from the immediate moment before... the moon and the stars. All of a sudden, it became clear to me now. I had seen the moon and stars, and so had Mary. That was the connection! The two of us had actually connected immediately BEFORE the accident! "HOLY SHIT!" I shouted. My outburst totally terrified Mary, who had been deep in thought herself. She looked at me, her entire body going into a martial arts defensive position automatically. My mouth hung open as I stared at Mary. I had never given any thought of what Mary's job had been in the military. Her rank of lieutenant seemed to be associated with a paper pusher, and I had imagined her as some sort of receptionist or records keeper. Her jobs after leaving the service--waitress, store manager, some sort of manager at a bank--none of those really required too much experience, and had confirmed that her role had been secretarial. Mary never mentioned that she had ever taken any kind of martial arts training, although I had heard her suggesting to Debbie that a downstairs gym might be a nice addition to the house in Hawaii. "I'm sorry, Mary," I said, hurriedly. "I just realized something." Mary's stance eased into a less active, but still defensive position. She noticed that I was watching her body movements and forced herself to relax into an even less active and less threatening position. I ignored this interesting little facet of information for the moment. It wasn't important now, but I tried to make a note to remember it. Mary still hadn't answered me, but I realized that the worry and the confusion that I had seen in her had completely disappeared. She was breathing heavy, and her limbs had a slight shake to them, but that was almost certainly due to the release of adrenaline into her bloodstream after my outburst. I willed myself to calm down, and did so. Mary watched me with amazement on her face. "I'm really sorry, Mary. I didn't mean to shout." Still no answer. "I'm also sorry for threatening you by asking if you wanted to leave our marriage. It was utterly stupid and cruel, and I wouldn't blame you for being upset or even leaving me, just like Aimee has threatened." The shakes left Mary's body, and her own breathing was returning to a normal level. She still said nothing. "There's something important you need to know, Mary." Again, no answer. Mary's entire body was relaxed, as if she hadn't been upset or ready to pull my arms out of their sockets just moments before. It was amazing. I knew how to do this; I just willed it in my brain. I had been able to do it since I came out of the coma, and was probably doing it while I was in the coma, which is why the people monitoring me hadn't seen all the brain activity going on when I was "visiting" Mary. "I just realized that you are very much like Aimee," I said. Mary seemed confused. "In what way?" "I thought Aimee was unique in that she connected with me without me reaching out to her," I explained. "Now, I just realized that you connected with me the same way that first time." "You mean, right before I ran over you?" Mary asked. "Yes. When I was looking at the sky. We connected." "Of course," Mary said, surprised that I had only just realized that. "You knew?" I asked, feeling very surprised myself now. "When did you know? How did you know?" "That day we had the picnic after you got out of the hospital," Mary answered. "You mentioned about the stars, and told me yourself... we connected!" I thought about that conversation and shook my head. "No! I was talking about connecting with you after I got hit by the jeep. I had been 'visiting' you." "Oh!" said Mary. Holy shit! At least, Mary and I were talking now. ------- "Why didn't I realize that before?" I asked. "Maybe you never looked before," Mary replied, simply. "You saw it with Aimee, and I guess you thought it was unique. Maybe that's why I felt so hurt." "I just found out because I was thinking about you." I said. "I made the realization that I had made some assumptions that weren't true." Mary nodded. "I was wondering what you were thinking about. You had been quiet for about a half hour." "Aimee was dreaming of the moon and the stars yesterday when I woke up," I explained. "I just realized that she was only the second person other than me to have seen that." I pulled Mary close to me and we kissed. "I'm truly sorry, Mary. I truly am. I never meant to hurt you." I instinctively knew that words would never be sufficient. "Come into my mind, darling," I whispered. "Let me show you how much I love you." For the first time in my life, I opened my mind to Mary. Without any hesitation, Mary entered my mind. ------- Somewhere, I heard a phone ring. I was in a bed, and had a nude Mary on my arms. Her body was partially covering my right side. I waited for the phone to ring again so I could locate its direction. I was lucky in that the phone was to my left, the side that Mary had left relatively uncovered. Still, I needed to move a bit in order to reach the phone. "Hello," my voice croaked. "It's Aimee." Aimee. My beloved Aimee. She's still speaking with me. I had news for her... good news! "What time is it?" I asked. "Five thirty." "AM or PM?" There was a pause. "Late afternoon." "Who is it?" whispered a totally exhausted Mary. "Aimee," I whispered back. "It's five thirty in the afternoon." "Thursday or Friday?" Mary asked. "Good question," I whispered back. "Thursday or Friday?" I repeated into the phone. "Friday." I could hear ice dripping from Aimee's words. I sighed. "Did we miss dinner?" "No, Jim. I was calling to ask if the two of you were going to be joining us." Aimee had emphasized the word "two" so I knew that I was still in hot water with her. "Hungry?" I whispered to Mary. "Starving," Mary said. The truth was, we hadn't eaten since Aimee left. "The two of us will join you, Aimee," I said, emphasizing the number. "I'm glad to hear that," Aimee replied sarcastically. I sighed, which Aimee heard. "Aimee... I'm sorry..." "Don't, Jim," Aimee warned. There was something in her voice that told me the phone was the wrong medium for apologies. "Please, Aimee," I insisted, speaking quickly to prevent Aimee from interrupting me. "I'm sorry that we're out of it. We've been in bed for a while." "Whatever," Aimee said, dismissively. "Have you heard of a place called the Watergate?" "The Watergate? The place that got Nixon busted?" I asked. Aimee sighed. She doesn't do that very often. I think that she thought that I was testing her limits. I wasn't doing it intentionally. "Can you meet us at the Brasserie? It's at the Watergate, across from the Kennedy Center at Foggy Bottom. Any cab will know how to get there." "What time?" I asked. "Seven thirty." "That's two hours?" I asked. "One hour, fifty-five minutes." "We'll be there," I said, emphasizing the pronoun. The phone disconnected. I shook my head. Aimee was obviously angry at me. I have never known her to hold her anger overnight. I knew my behavior toward Mary yesterday was inexcusable, but she sounded like I had done something wrong to her. I had no idea what it was. Mary sat up in bed. "We have two hours?" "Less, actually. I have a feeling Aimee is still pissed off at me about yesterday." Mary shook her head. "No, she's not. She might not condone what you did. She's very perceptive, you know. She's not angry about that, though. If she's angry right now, it's probably the same reason I'd be angry if I had been on the other end of that conversation." "What did I do?" Mary shook her head. "It's not what you did. It's what you didn't do. Did you tell her that you love her? She is still your wife, Jim." Oh, fuck! I had no idea where Aimee was right now. There was no way to call her back. I had an idea, though. "Do you think we can find a florist on the way to Foggy Bottom?" Mary nodded and smiled. "We'll need about thirty minutes for a good two-person shower, and fifteen minutes to get dressed. Did Aimee pack you a suit? You mentioned the Watergate. That's high class. I wonder how she got a reservation so soon." I had no idea where any of my clothes were. Mary jumped out of bed and went to look. "Jim! Aimee packed the Armani. There's an iron in the closet here, I'll get it ready for you!" "No, dearest," I said to Mary, pulling her away from the closet and into the bathroom. "It's time to shower. I love the smell of Mary and Jim, but I don't think the Watergate staff will enjoy it. I know how to iron my own suits. I did it way before we met under the stars!" Mary smiled at me and we snuggled into the shower together. We got the water warm enough and we each got a little bar of soap and started lathering the other. Of course, I was focused on Mary's lovely breasts and pubic hair, while Mary's attention seemed to be mainly at an organ that was getting more and more erect. After about twenty minutes, the tiny bar of soap had disappeared, so I started rubbing the cleansing water into the same general area on Mary's body. I was getting distracted because Mary's attentions on my cock were getting it very close to the point of eruption. I felt my muscles jerk as my orgasm washed over me. Mary seemed a little disappointed in the tiny amount of fluid that she generated. I saw her expression and shrugged, "What do you expect? You think a guy in his thirties can make it with a hot chick a half dozen times in twenty-four hours?" "Was it only six times?" Mary asked, mischievously. "Maybe more," I said. "Come on, hand me the shampoo." Mary did and I squeezed a large amount on my hands and started to massage it into her wavy brown hair. I remembered watching Debbie and Mary play in the tub, and I tried to do Mary's hair the same way that Debbie did, working up a great lather and massaging my fingers into her scalp. Mary actually purred like a kitten in response. Without warning, I dunked Mary's head under the shower head to rinse off the first shampoo. Having mostly completed the job, I started a second cleaning run, not using as much shampoo nor massaging as much... just enough to get the hair full of lather. Once again I dunked Mary's head for her final rinse. "Thanks, Jim!" Mary said, and she hopped out of the shower and started drying. I could barely see her body through the misty panels, so I reached out with my mind and quietly entered Mary's mind, opening her eyes and looking in the mirror. The mirror wasn't too fogged over, and I got a nicer view of Mary's large breasts. "You rascal!" Mary squealed as she realized that I was "peeping" on her. Despite her protest, Mary pointed the hair dryer at the mirror and cleared the steam from it as if by magic, giving me a much better view of her lovely body. I giggled in response, and pulled mostly out of Mary's mind, leaving her to her privacy. I rinsed the shampoo out of my own hair, and then shut off the water. I could still hear the whine of the hair dryer, and I felt around for a towel. I couldn't find one, so I reached over to where Mary was and grabbed the towel from her shoulders. "Hey!" Mary said, barely audible over the hum of the dryer. "You're done with it," I pointed out. Her towel was wet, but in the army, I had learned to make do with smaller and sometimes wetter towels. It wasn't a big deal. Just move the water down your body, letting gravity do most of the work. I dried myself, and moved out to the closet. Inside the closet was an ironing board and iron, and I quickly removed the creases from the black Armani suit that Debbie had insisted on purchasing for me. It really didn't need too much work on it, but I kept the ironing board out in case Mary needed it. (One quickly learns what women need when you are married to three of them at the same time!) Mary already had a dress on the bed, and it was in pretty good condition. I decided to help her out and gave it a once over with the iron on its gentlest setting. I found the rest of my clothes and started to get dressed. Mary exited nude from the bathroom, her hair almost looking completely normal already. She smiled at me when she saw I left the iron out, and when she picked up her dress, she noticed that it was still warm. "Jim! That was so sweet of you!" "Just thought I'd help you move your lazy ass!" I laughed, which earned me a playful swat on the ass as I was pulling on my boxers. "How much time do you have?" Mary asked. I looked at the clock. "We're running slightly late. Sixty-five minutes before Aimee hits the roof." "Let's not give her another reason to be angry," Mary suggested. I pulled on my pants, and was about to grab my shirt when I noticed that Mary was just about completely dressed. When she wants, Mary can dress faster than a salesman who just found out the mafioso husband of the woman he's in bed with just got home. I hurriedly finished dressing, and Mary helped adjust my tie. "Looks fine. I'll fix it when we get to the Watergate." Mary found Aimee's stash of cash and took it, and the two of us went downstairs. Luckily, we had no trouble getting a cab. Mary explained that we needed to get to a florist and then to the Watergate before 7:15. "You'll get a ten dollar tip for every minute you can get us there early." "No problem, Miss!" the cabbie said, and we were off, propelled through the roads of the District of Columbia. The florist we went to was near the Kennedy Center, and I had no problem getting two rose corsages that were already made. However, I needed a special one, and I was willing to pay just about any price to get it made pronto. The old lady looked at me, the stack of bills in my hand, and asked, "What color?" "Light purple, please." She nodded. She found a few of the blooms, and had a custom-made corsage made in record time. I left a hefty tip and Mary and I hurried back to the waiting cab. "You'll be five minutes early, Ma'am," the cabbie said. "Fine," Mary said. "Keep it under the limit and you'll still have fifty over the meter." "Your wish is my command," the cabbie smiled. We got to the Watergate at 7:14, and I paid the cabbie a hundred dollars, not wanting to wait to make change. He was surprised, but seeing the location, he simply shrugged and smiled as he went on his way. ------- It didn't take me long to find Aimee and Debbie. I simply had to find a large group of men, and I knew that my two co-wives would be in the middle somewhere. I was correct. I escorted Mary, deftly holding my packages behind my back. The crowd parted as they saw Mary, and Debbie's eyes lit up she they saw us. Aimee was wearing a sheer light purple evening gown trimmed in a darker purple that I had never seen before this night. She also had on white high heels that must have been extremely high, since she looked to be almost as tall as Debbie. Debbie, on the other hand, was wearing a similar gown, but in pink trimmed with red. She had on red flat shoes, which explained how their heights matched so nicely. "Debbie," I said, looking at my second wife. "Patricia," using Aimee's code name, since I figured that would be how she made the reservation. "Mary," I said, looking at Mary. I held out the bag containing the packages. "These are for you." I opened the bag and pulled out the first rose corsage and handed it to Mary. Next, I pulled out a second identical one for Debbie. Aimee looked at me, and there was a look in her eyes that said that she was still hurt. I looked at her as if to say, "I love you, my beloved," and reached in and pulled out the last corsage. Aimee actually gasped when she saw the corsage that was made from delicate, light orchids that almost perfectly matched the dress that she was wearing. Ignoring all the people that were surrounding us, Aimee reached up and threw her arms around me. I heard her whisper in my ear, "Thank you, Master. I love you." "I love you, my beloved Aimee," I said in a voice that only she could hear. "I'm sorry for not telling you that when you called. My only defense was that I had been roused from a deep sleep." "I'm sorry for getting angry at you, Master," Aimee whispered back. I kissed Aimee on the cheek and asked, softly, "Do we have reservations?" Aimee nodded and then led the way. I followed her, taking Debbie and Mary on each arm, and the crowd parted as Aimee approached the maitre d'hotel. "Reservations for James," Aimee said. "Ms. Patricia James, and her three guests." "Of course, Ms. James," the host said, expertly palming a fifty dollar bill that Aimee must have produced from thin air. "This way." The maitre d' led us past a long line of people waiting to get in, and we were led to our table. It was beautiful, with exquisite linen and crystal. Four waiters appeared to pull our chairs out for us. I was starting to like living the way Debbie likes to live. The beautiful women that I had found in the midst of a crowd of men in the foyer of one of the most prestigious places in Washington, DC had been replaced by two even more ravishing and wonderful women, who had found their wayward husband returned from the Island of the Assholes. ------- Back at the Sheraton, the four of us retired to the king sized bed in the main bedroom. Instead of physical love, we shared emotional love by opening our minds to one another. I had done this first with Aimee, and earlier that day with Mary, and now I was doing it with all three of my wives at the same time. It was amazing the amount of love we shared for one another. Each woman loved me in her own special way, and I loved each one specially as well. In addition, each wife shared a special love with each of co-wife. I felt warm lips engulf my cock, and I didn't need to open my eyes to know whose lips were on it. They belonged to Debbie, of course. Of the three of us, she was the one that preferred to express her love in a physical way, needing to feel the physical connection to others. Even so, she was still sharing the emotional connection with me and her two co-wives. In response, Aimee started suckling on Debbie's breasts, and Mary started licking between Debbie's legs. Through our connection, I could feel Mary's lips licking up and down Debbie's slit. The fact that all four of us were sharing our minds together, we were able to focus Debbie's pleasure receptors to the point where she was even more sensitive than usual. I could feel Debbie's soft cry of orgasm vibrate around my penis. With hardly any effort, Mary lifted Debbie's body physically and deposited Debbie's slick love nest firmly on my shaft. Keeping her hands on Debbie's body, Mary assisted Debbie's legs in moving her body up and down my shaft. Aimee had repositioned her own body such that she was lying with her own honey pot on my face. I couldn't see, but I rather felt her lips were still on Debbie's breasts, licking and sucking. We had really gotten Debbie to the point where she was hypersensitive. Mary was now kissing Debbie, Aimee was sucking her breasts, and Debbie was still riding me. I had expected that my lovemaking earlier with Mary would have left me without much to pump into Debbie when my orgasm approached, and I felt a slight twinge of regret. However, I felt a soothing feeling wash over me as Aimee's and Mary's presence stimulated something within me. My cock started to spurt and I pumped a couple of jets of semen into Debbie's sopping quim. At the same time, Debbie's nerve endings, which had been set on overload, kicked in furiously and her cries were only slightly muffled by Mary's mouth, since she was now kissing Debbie. The resulting wave of pleasure within Debbie was shared by each of her spouses. The moment seemed to last forever as our minds tried to comprehend the amount of pure joy that we were sharing. Debbie's body started to slump as if every muscle in her body had simultaneously relaxed. This changed the configuration of our bodies, and Aimee rolled to my side as Debbie collapsed on top of me. Despite the fact that my dick was only slightly erect, I was still inside Debbie. We continued to love one another, occasionally caressing each other to add a bit of tactile sensation to the mix, as we lay in bed at the positions we ended up in, until one by one, all my wives fell asleep. ------- I laid in bed, surrounded by my three wives. I thought about recent events. I knew that this particular evening will stand out forever in my memory. For the first time since Aimee's "wedding," there were no undercurrents happening. We were now four people simply in love with one another. I can see where we had once been acting as two couples, and I can see now how wrong that had been. I had always known intellectually that none of my wives were more important than the other, but I had been remiss in making it clear to Mary and Debbie. Only Aimee had known it, but that was only because she was smart at that sort of thing, but even Aimee needed to hear me tell her that I love her, as Mary pointed out to me. When I had seen Aimee's ability and its similarity to mine, it had been a tremendous release for me. I had originally thought that my capability made me a freak, but Aimee had it too, even if she didn't have it to the extent that I had it. There was no way that I could ever consider Aimee a freak. At first, I was concerned that bringing Aimee into our relationship might change her in some subtle way. I was now grateful that it hadn't been the case. After our "marriage," I focused a lot on Aimee in order to keep confirming to myself that she did have the ability and I therefore wasn't such an oddity. The problem that I hadn't seen was that I had focused on her too much and that was felt as a subtle rejection to my two other wives. Even though I can read their minds at will, I don't do so unless the girls know that I'm doing it. Despite the fact that I can see their thoughts, I was still a neophyte at reading their minds. Unless you look deeply under the surface and know exactly what you are looking for, it's easy to miss the minor resentments, and if they aren't found and dealt with soon, they can grow to full bitterness and, even worse, maybe even hate. I am quite lucky to have Aimee as a pressure valve. Before the situation between Mary and me became insufferable, she forced me to deal with the problem. In doing so, I discovered something fundamental that we probably might have taken me much longer to discover. All of my wives were important to me, and each of them had a special place in my heart. I loved Mary, pure and simple. If I had to choose a single person to live with forever, forsaking my other two wives, it would be a difficult decision, but the one I would choose would have to be Mary. I had thought long and hard about this during the twenty-four hours or so that I spent alone with Mary. Why Mary? First, we had a lot in common but what we had in common were things we actually liked about ourselves. I've seen spouses that shared a particular trait, and most of the time, it was that very trait that each one hated about the other. That wasn't the case with Mary and me. I can spend twenty-four hours simply loving Mary, and know that it would be the most comforting day of my life--I had already just done so. Mary filled the warm center of my being, and I cannot imagine how I ever lived my life without her. I know for a fact that this particular feeling is mutual: she gave up her career in the military and visited me just about every day for twelve years while I appeared to be dead to the world. We were both committed totally to one another. Aimee's reminding me of Mary being willing to walk into the dragon's den for me was quite accurate. That didn't mean that I loved either Debbie or Aimee any less than Mary. My second wife, Debbie, had a love of life and a sense of adventure that I truly treasured. She was very enthusiastic in bed, and loved to experiment. I know that her sexual relationship with Mary would never have happened if Debbie hadn't initiated it. Thinking about it, I realized that Debbie was enthusiastic in just about anything that I had seen her do. Her vivacity was infectious and her fieriness was usually enough to pull me out of any bad mood. Just knowing that Debbie was around was enough to bring a very satisfied smile on my face. That is not to say that Debbie doesn't know sadness. You can see it in her eyes and even actually feel it when she is reminded of her father. I don't know if I could ever occupy that spot in her heart, but I knew that I would spend a lifetime trying to make the rest of her life happy. I also saw sadness in Debbie's eyes when she left the room the previous day at Aimee's orders. Whether Aimee's threat to leave me forever was empty or not, it had definitely affected Debbie, and I know for a fact that Aimee knew it as well. I can only imagine that Aimee tried her level best to try to make Debbie as happy as she could be during the time that they had left Mary and me alone. Despite whatever Aimee had done, I still noticed a dullness in Debbie's eyes when I first saw her at the Watergate, before she noticed Mary and me. Her expression did turn to one of joy when she saw how happy the two of us were. It was as if her happiness depended on all of our happiness. What, then, can I say about Aimee? She's easily one of the smartest people I've ever met, especially when dealing with people. Deep down, she's a submissive inside, and that appeals to some dark part of me in a very naughty way, but that submissiveness didn't define her personality. She didn't live to serve any person as a Master, despite her continuously calling me that. Instead, I could see now that her loyalties were to our family, which seems to be the main focus of her life now. If our relationship starts heading off-track, it's Aimee that spots it and takes the initiative to correct it. Her methods aren't conventional, but her actions achieve results. I realize now that my relationship with Mary and Debbie could not have succeeded without Aimee being a part of it as well. It was quite true that I was the luckiest man in the world. When I came out of my coma, I initially felt resentful that I had lost twelve years of my life that I would never be able to regain. I'm not one to cry over spilled milk, though, and having three wonderful wives that I had no hesitation in devoting the rest of my life has easily compensated for that loss. It was as if I was living each new day at least three times more than any other person in the world. The only thing that remained was that we were still being pursued. Mary's suggestion to turn the tables on the people tracking us was a very courageous one, and I hoped we would be able to succeed. Aimee's investigator, this Mr. Voder, might be the factor that might tilt the balance in our favor. Utilizing Mr. Voder, though, came at a risk. Such people like him will only support you if they truly think your cause is just. We would need to convince him, and to do so, we may have to intentionally expose ourselves to somebody outside our family for the first time. It was not a comforting thought, especially when every ounce of your being screams at you to keep our abilities secret. I knew that I would need to have a family conference the next day. I had to share with Aimee and Debbie the discovery that Mary and I had made, and we needed to have a workable plan to start living our own lives without fear of harassment from anything or anybody. Having made that decision, I felt sleep descend upon me. The last conscious thought I had did not came from my own mind. "I will love you forever, my beloved master." ------- Chapter 16 "Sweet love's showin' us a heavenly light, never seen such a beautiful sight!" We woke up and Aimee ordered room service for breakfast. When she put down the phone, Aimee told me that there was a package for Patricia James, her alias, at the front desk and that it would be delivered with our meal. I wondered what present our friend Mr. Voder had for us today. I idly wondered if he might have our room bugged, since he obviously knew where we were staying. It was a paranoid thought, but I was taught well that one doesn't survive in the military if one is an unnecessary optimist. I thought back to the conversations that we had since we arrived, and realized that nothing had been said that would have revealed anything that would jeopardize us, except the obvious fact that all three women considered me their husband. Even when Mary and I made our amazing discovery, I realized that Mary and I were communicating on two levels: our words alone might not make sense to anybody listening. Of course, it all depended on how much whoever was listening already knew or suspected. Despite that, I decided that we would wait for a better venue that gave less opportunity for eavesdropping. Room service arrived with a complimentary newspaper and Patricia's package. Aimee took the large padded mailer and I grabbed the newspaper. Normally, newspapers didn't interest me much. The novelty of having an actor as president had worn off. In addition, the upcoming political election didn't appeal to me, since I only knew George Bush as the ex-CIA chief, and had no idea who Michael Dukkakis was. Even most of the names in the sports section were totally foreign to me. The world had changed while I had slept, and I found that I had little taste in being reminded about what I had lost. This lack of desire would eventually diminish as I got reacquainted to the world as it now existed, but it would take time before this happened. On this day, however, I was interested in checking out the weather forecast--the day seemed nice, but I just wanted a second opinion. The forecast for that day, and the next few days as well, was for clear and mild weather. I smiled. It would be perfect weather to enjoy Washington, DC. There were plenty of public places to visit and opportunities to hold a quiet family conversation. The girls were sitting around eating breakfast when I joined them. The coffee was delicious and removed any vestiges of fatigue that I had from our workout last night. "So where did you find those awesome gowns, Debbie?" I asked, trying to make small talk. "We found a place in our travels yesterday," Debbie shrugged. "For some extra cash, we had them tailored on the spot. The place probably has a lot of important clients who need outfits at the last minute. Aimee loved hers, and I preferred the color pink." Aimee smiled. "How did you know the color for my corsage?" "I didn't know what you'd be wearing, Precious," I smiled. "I just knew that purple orchids have always been your favorite. I felt that I needed to apologize to you for not telling you that I loved you when you called. Red roses say 'I love you, ' but I thought that orchids would say it just a bit louder, if only to you, Precious. Mary told me that I had been remiss after the call." Aimee's response was a simple nod with a big smile. "We should do some shopping when we're done with our breakfast and showers," I suggested. This was greeted by nods. "Our friend has some gifts for everybody today," Aimee announced cryptically. She passed some envelopes around the table. I opened mine, which contained a driver's license and an American Express card. Debbie's had the same, plus close to two thousand dollars in twenty and fifty dollar bills. Mary had a Visa card and a license. Debbie's license was from New York. Mine and Mary's was from the state of California, and Aimee already had one from Vermont. All of these looked quite legitimate to me. I wondered what would happen if any of us were stopped by a highway patrolman and the licenses were checked. Somehow, I figured that they would pass any type of scrutiny. Before we used the credit cards, though, I figured it would be a good idea to discuss it with Aimee, who was the one that knew Mr. Voder the best, and Mary, who I had now suspected was more than a little familiar with intelligence affairs. I put my credit card and the new license in my wallet, hiding my prized Hawaiian license that Aimee had procured for me. The girls, seeing what I had done, each did the same. Excusing myself from breakfast, I showered with Mary, and Debbie and Aimee showered together afterward. Unfortunately, there was no way to logistically fit four adults into the shower stall without creating a major accident hazard. I kissed Mary after she left the bathroom, where Aimee and Debbie were doing an enthusiastic job of getting each other clean. I was already dressed in some dress slacks and a short sleeve shirt. I heard the two girls exit their shower, and Aimee was the first out of the bathroom. I met her with a kiss, and she returned it lovingly. Debbie came out of the bathroom soon afterward, and I kissed her as well. Her mouth tasted minty of mouthwash, and I think my breath would be very fresh as well, since Debbie's tongue made sure that it reached just about everywhere possible inside my mouth. "Get a room, you two!" Mary laughed as she witnessed our kiss. Debbie and I broke off our kiss at that, grinning at Mary. I was pleasantly amazed at Mary's transformation from a person that doubted her role in our relationship to one that understood that she was an equal and very important partner for the four of us. Aimee had an outfit picked out for Debbie, and apparently, Debbie approved. Debbie nodded at her co-wife, and she put on the suit. I watched her dress, of course. Debbie is a knockout and every movement she made, even when doing the most mundane things, emanated her eroticism. I found myself joined by Mary, who also seemed to like watching Debbie dress. When Debbie was finished, she grinned at Mary and I, knowing that we had been watching her. I pulled the two of us into a three-way kiss, and we were soon joined by Aimee, making the kiss most satisfactory. After leaving the hotel, Mary surprised me by telling me that she had already scouted the address that Mr. Voder had given us. It was an office building on a major thoroughfare through Falls Church near I-66 and across the street from a shopping center. There was a bank of elevators inside the building, as well as two fire escapes that were locked from the outside, but weren't locked from the stairways to each floor. I was happy that I had this extra information and smiled at my having realized that Mary did seem to have a head for intelligence work. We took a cab to the shopping mall, and then walked as two couples into the shopping center opposite the building. Our initial plan was to slowly wind our way through the shopping center and toward the office building, meeting eventually near the back of the building. Mary got a strange feeling and sent me a silent message that somebody was watching us. She slightly changed her direction to appear as if we were going back toward the stores to see if the person would follow us. We didn't want to be discovered so close to the office where this Colonel was headquartered. The man that Mary had spotted appeared to be near a brown sedan when he looked up and visibly noticed Debbie and Aimee. "Patricia!" the man said loudly and enthusiastically, looking straight at Aimee. Years of training put Mary and me into immediate alert. I was about to try to deflect this person from Aimee by putting myself between him and my wife. Then I heard Debbie gasp. "Uncle William!" Debbie shouted, completely surprised. She ran up and actually kissed the man. ------- "Uncle William" addressed each of us by our aliases from our new licenses, confirming to me that this person was Aimee's Mr. Voder. Aimee didn't seem to recognize the man, though. The fact that Debbie recognized him as an uncle was another interesting twist in the situation. Mary looked at this person with suspicion clearly evident in her eyes. He immediately introduced himself as "William Voder," calling Mary once again by her own alias. He handed me a business card with the name that he gave us. "I work for Debbie," Mr. Voder said. "And, by extension, this means that I am working for all of you." I looked at my wives, trying to get a feel for this person. I knew that Debbie recognized this person as an uncle, but Debbie was also a very trusting person. Of my other two wives, Aimee gave me a slight nod and Mary still seemed undecided. "Let's find some place a little more private for our family reunion," Uncle William said. "There's a MetroRail station over there." William was pointing toward an orange sign indicating the Washington DC subway system. "Where do you suggest we go?" I asked. "There are a lot of nice places in Foggy Bottom," William said. "It's near George Washington University, and you can find a lot of places around there that are pretty private. Another idea is the Smithsonian Institute." "OK." We took the subway inbound toward central Washington, DC. After looking at the station map, I decided that L'Enfant Plaza might be even better than the places that William suggested, and I suggested that. William shrugged and readily agreed. We rode silently into the station and after we exited, I silently led our party. I knew that there was a hotel at the Plaza, and it had a few lobbies within. Mary was looking at me expectantly. I entered her mind and silently said, "Yes?" "Things seem pretty safe here," Mary said. "How do you know?" I asked. "Just a feeling." There were hundreds of questions that I had running through my head. Was this really Debbie's uncle? What was his relationship to the Department of Defense and/or various intelligence agencies? How much did he know about us? How many people did he have monitoring us? After about five minutes after entering the hotel, I found an area that was pretty secluded. We sat on comfortable chairs. "So, Captain Montgomery," William finally said to me. "I'm sure you're treating my niece appropriately. I'm sorry that I wasn't invited to the wedding." William was telling me that he had been keeping tabs on us. "There wasn't any official ceremony," I said. William nodded. "It appears that only fair Aimee had any sort of ceremony. Am I correct?" That confirmed that he had been investigating us. "It was informal." I didn't want to give this man too much information until I knew exactly whose side he was on. "Aimee is a wonderful and very mysterious person," William said to me. He turned to her and said, "It has been a real privilege working for you and with you, my dear." "The feeling is mutual," Aimee said. I could see from her eyes that she was still appraising this person, although she seemed generally in favor of him. This raised my own opinion of him, since I really valued Aimee's feelings about whether a person is "good" or "bad." "And this is the faithful and devoted Lieutenant Cadley," Voder said, indicating Mary. "As you know, I resigned my commission quite a while ago," Mary said, a little stiffly. William nodded. "May I have your permission to refer to you by your given name, then, Ms. Cadley?" "Mary would be fine." William took Mary's hand, and said "Pleasure to meet you again, Mary." "Again?" Mary asked, a bit surprised. "I met you in the hospital seven years ago." This was interesting. William seemed to be implying that he had been investigating me before I had even come out of my coma! "In what capacity?" Mary asked, instantly suspicious. "I had a temporary job as an administrator at the hospital where Jim was residing." "Why?" I asked. "It was the best place to access his records, of course," William said. "Under whose orders?" "James Malen." Ahh, how the road twists and turns. "Your brother was investigating me?" "Normally, I don't comment on investigations except to the party that hires me. However, since you are 'married' to the only surviving daughter of my client, I will make an exception. Yes, you were being investigated." "Why?" "That is a good question," William said. "Is Colonel DiPietro involved in that investigation?" Aimee asked. "He was not," William answered. "His investigation is more recent, based on some information that I thought had been destroyed." "What information was destroyed?" "Some medical and non-service related information on Captain James Montgomery, especially any information that relates to a certain Doctor Larson." I turned to Mary. Without me asking the question, Mary said, "I met a Doctor Larson a few years ago at the hospital. I only saw him once or twice. The last time I heard from him, he told me that he was going to interview me and give me an update on your condition. I showed up for the meeting, but he didn't. I never heard from him again." "Doctor Larson probably died very soon after you met him," William said. "He died?" Mary asked. "I had been hoping he could have given me some more detailed information about Jim's condition. I asked about him afterward, and somebody told me he had just been a visiting doctor and that he had already left." "Actually, Mary, it was probably for the best that you didn't meet with him for that interview. You probably wouldn't be here now." "Why?" "With one exception, all of Larson's surgical patients died under the experimental treatment that he had advocated. He probably would have found a reason to treat you as well." "Jim was the exception," Aimee stated. "Indeed." "Why would I have been treated?" Mary asked. "I thought you'd know that answer," William said. He looked at me and saw me nod my head very slightly. "It's not general knowledge in our family yet. Only Mary and I know for sure right now, although I also suspect that Aimee knows. We were going to update Aimee and Debbie today." Debbie and Aimee seemed surprised by my statement. William sighed. "I am unarmed, Captain Montgomery..." "Jim." "Jim," William continued. "And my knowledge of self-defense would probably not match the abilities of three of you." "Four," Debbie said, her voice steady and her eyes shooting fire. "All four of you," William corrected. "I do know your secret. Shall I explain it to your other two wives?" "I'm interested in hearing how much you know." William took a deep breath. "Your ability was discovered by Larson. Your quick promotion to Captain didn't go unnoticed. The Zulu Squad was a fiction. You would have been part of the Larson Project, and you would most likely have died as a result of Larson's experimentation." "This is news to me," I said. "Do you want the rest of the story?" William asked. "Yes," answered our four voices as if they were one. Mr. Voder told us the story. ------- Doctor Larson was a loner that worked in a special unit within the Defense Intelligence Agency (DoDIA). He was a certified genius, although his methods were quite unusual. Most of Larson's colleagues thought that Larson's research on telepathy and telekinesis was hogwash, but Larson had actually found that some people seemed to have what he called an inherent "psi-potential," or ability to communicate from person to person without any physical means of communicating. For most people, it was very faint, such as a mother that could sense that her child was in danger without seeing or hearing anything. For a few people, it was a bit more distinct, like the ability to sense emotions or other vague concepts. So far, nobody had ever been able to provably transmit or receive concrete thoughts, such as a "blue Chevy Nova." Nevertheless, Larson created a file of people in the military that he classified as "Empaths." These were people that can pick up the emotions of others without any sensory clues. He checked the various tests that the military tended to issue, and suggested some others until he found a quite remarkable, simple, and non-intrusive test that could predict if a certain person had this Empathic psi-potential. He had arranged that this test be administered at a few military bases, and he managed to find a couple of dozen of these Empaths. He monitored these people surreptitiously, following their careers without interference. During the late 1960's, the Vietnam war resulted in many American casualties. Among these casualties were a few people that were on Larson's lists. Using his medical credentials, he managed to get himself assigned to perform unnecessary autopsies on these Empaths, a morbid practice that was not officially sanctioned by the military, but his superiors in the Agency looked the other way. It is not exactly known what Larson discovered during these autopsies, but he seemed to find some common deviations in the brains belonging to the late Empaths that he examined. Apparently, one of the Empaths that he tested showed deviations more pronounced than the others. Since the patient was dead, there was no way to determine if the patient had a higher psi-potential than the others, other than by the initial testing that Larson had done earlier, which didn't indicate the amount of psi-potential, but rather just the presence of it. However, the fact that the patient was returning home as a fallen hero, having been awarded many distinctive medals including the silver star posthumously, Larson thought that it was quite possible that this person may have had a stronger ability than the others. It was also apparent that the deviations that Larson discovered could be found with a mere brain scan, which was much less invasive than cutting into a person's brain during an autopsy. Larson returned to his list of Empaths and now monitored them more closely. If any of them fell ill, he would reassign himself to the hospital where they were staying in order to get brain scans and perform additional tests. At the same time Larson was testing his Empaths, he was working on experiments with mice to find any with the "Empathic deviations" and, finding success, he tried breeding them to see if the deviations were hereditary. It turned out that deviations could possibly be an extremely recessive trait, as certain lines of mice seemed to be more prone to express the deviation, but there wasn't any provable cause and effect. Another field of research that Larson tried was performing live surgery to try to enhance the deviation in the mice. The results were dismal: most of the mice died. Larson studied his successes and his failures, and eventually developed a "treatment" that had a much higher incidence of success with the rodents. By the mid-1970's, Larson had a list of three or four of his Empaths that had higher psi-potentials, and altered his non-intrusive tests to help isolate these "Super Empaths." He decided to create the Zulu Squad to collect them into a single place where they could be observed interacting with one another. Tragedy struck before the Zulu Squad was put together when the selected leader, Captain James Montgomery, was accidentally hit by a jeep, and his situation wasn't well. He was in a coma, and after a few weeks, it was obvious that his condition wasn't going to improve. The Zulu Squad was abandoned before it even began, a decision made due to budget cuts as well as to the questionable nature of its inception, which caused Larson a setback. Larson had wanted to see if he could apply his "treatment" to Montgomery, but since the captain had already had most of his broken bones and head injuries treated, Larson was too late. Larson resumed his monitoring of all his Empaths, not just the "super Empaths" and within two years, there were a couple of other incidents of head injuries. On each occasion, Larson prescribed his "treatment" to be performed on the Empath during surgery as a "way to treat concussions." During both attempts, the Empath had died. Investigation of these two deaths resulted in the discovery that modified procedures were at fault, and worse, nobody could find out where the orders for the modified treatment had come from, since Larson had covered his tracks very well. Of course, the Agency knew about it, but desired to keep their involvement in the possible death of American soldiers secret. This resulted in a crackdown in the hospitals and stricter safeguards were issued to prevent modification of procedures in the future. Things were turning desperate for Larson. Even people in the Agency were now starting to question the research he was doing. Instead of laying low, Larson reassigned himself to work as head of neurosurgery at the hospital where Captain Montgomery was still in a coma. It was an act of desperation for Larson. He actually forged an impressive resume showing outstanding success in coma research, and was easily assigned to Montgomery's case. He would be able to perform the surgery for the "treatment" on Montgomery himself, since he had felt that the incompetent surgeons at the other hospitals had been responsible for the deaths of the two other Empaths. The Agency was catching up with Larson, and during the surgery, two M.P.s showed up with orders for Larson's arrest. The surgery was halted and the doctor was escorted out of the hospital for interrogation by the army. Unfortunately, as he was escorted out of the hospital, Larson tried to escape. From somewhere, he produced a weapon and aimed at one of the M.P.s. The other one immediately shot the doctor in self defense, killing Larson instantly. The hospital was told to make sure that Captain Montgomery was closely monitored for any reaction to the surgery, and his brain wave activity was compared from before and after the surgery. The biggest and most alarming change was that the simple and normal deviations in brain activity, usually associated with patients dreaming, were no longer happening to the captain. It was as if the captain had just stopped dreaming. The doctors wondered what this meant, and whether this was a foreshadow of bad news for the captain's condition. Most of the Agency's records involving Doctor Larson's research were ordered destroyed. There is no longer any official information on how Doctor Larson had been caught, nor who had been responsible for the destruction of his research. While the captain was in a coma, both of his parents had passed away. The only "family" he had was the former Lieutenant Mary Cadley who visited the captain every day. The lieutenant was the person who was driving the jeep that hit the captain, and her visits were attributed to massive feelings of guilt at nearly killing the captain, although nobody in the hospital had ever heard of somebody as devoted as the lieutenant was seen to be. She seemed to visit the captain nearly every day including holidays, talking with him, and reading to him. The nurses' hearts went out to Ms. Cadley, and allowed her extended visiting hours, hoping for her sake that the captain's condition, despite the negative outlook, would improve. Captain Montgomery spent twelve years in a coma, and actually came out of his coma while being visited by the former lieutenant. The hospital staff had been starting to get concerned when Cadley kept insisting that the captain was coming out of his coma for a couple of weeks before he actually did, seemingly against all evidence to the contrary. They were about to recommend a therapist for the lieutenant when, during one remarkable visit, the captain actually did come out of his coma! A large battery of tests were performed on the captain. He was told what had happened, and that his awakening was indeed astonishing. After a few months, the captain starting getting more and more restless as time wore on, since he was now quite healthy and didn't want to spend his whole life in a hospital. Finally he was discharged and put on disability, mostly due to notes added to his file by Intelligence that the captain had been put in harm's way when some unauthorized treatment may have been performed on him, although the captain was never informed of this unnecessary operation. At about the same time that Montgomery was being discharged from the hospital, databases within the military were being upgraded. Some new cross checks in the software discovered an anomaly in some records, all referring to a mysterious "Doctor Larson," although there was no correlation to the actual work that he did, who he worked for, or anything else, for that matter. ------- "Fascinating," I said, hearing the story. "Wow!" exclaimed Aimee and Debbie together. Mary was silent, and continued staring at Mr. Voder. "There's more," William said. ------- Not too long ago, during a computer system upgrade, the new software discovered some discrepancies concerning a Doctor Larson. It appeared that some important records had been destroyed. Since operations was being closely monitored due to some recent intelligence SNAFU's, such as the arms for hostages scandal, the destruction of records was investigated. Some backup tapes revealed some of the information that had been lost, and it wasn't pretty. Apparently, somebody had been running unauthorized experiments on three American soldiers who had been injured, and two of the three cases were fatal. The only survivor was a Captain James Montgomery, who had been in a coma for nearly twelve years. This information was dutifully reported to the Senate armed services committee, and a senator ordered a complete investigation. Doctor Larson's name came up, he became the focus for the new investigation. Colonel DiPietro was assigned the task to find out more about Doctor Larson, and he assembled a small intelligence team, as well as a number of field investigators. As details were coming in about Doctor Larson, Captain Montgomery woke up from his coma. As he was the only living link to Doctor Larson, a dossier was compiled about the captain and his illness and treatments. The captain was now apparently living with the lieutenant that had been visiting with him at the hospital. It was suggested that both people be followed, to see what interest this mysterious Doctor Larson had in the former captain. Montgomery and Cadley were living together at her apartment. Although he had purchased and paid two months' rent on another apartment, it was never used. Montgomery and Cadley were sometimes spotted in the company of her apartment's landlord, Debbie Malen and/or her associate, Miss Aimee Porter. There was one report of a weird incident that happened in a park involving James Montgomery, Mary Cadley, and Debbie Malen involving a person named Jeff Parker, who is currently in basic training, stationed at Fort Benning. An investigation is currently underway on that person, but nothing of any importance has yet been found. Soon after the incident in the park, there is a report of a wedding reception for Montgomery and Porter, and attended by Cadley and Malen. No further details on this reception are available. This reception shows as an anomaly, since up until this time, it had been suggested that Montgomery and Cadley had been romantically involved. No marriage licenses have ever been issued for Montgomery and any of his three companions. Almost immediately after this reception, the four flew to Hawaii to a location that was owned by Malen near Big and Little Makena Beach on the island of Maui, Hawaii. It was suggested that since Porter was born in Hawaii, this might be a honeymoon trip, although the presence of the other two companions makes this suggestion questionable. There is a report that a driver's license was issued to James Montgomery, giving the location of Debbie Malen's house as his residence, further confusing the investigation. An investigative team was assembled in Hawaii to ascertain what these four people were doing when the four subjects unexpectedly split up. Montgomery and Cadley left for the big island, leaving open the question of whether Montgomery and Porter had actually gotten married. Malen and Porter remained behind. Suggestion was made that a domestic argument between Montgomery and Porter had him leaving her and her employer behind. On the big island, Montgomery and Cadley were reportedly acting as if they were on honeymoon together, renting hotel rooms together, and eating at romantic restaurants. The only military place of interest visited was the memorial at Pearl Harbor. The investigation of the four, up until this point, was strictly low-key, and it was decided to perhaps follow everybody more closely. At the time this decision was made, the two couples met up together unexpectedly at the airport in Honolulu. They departed on Malen's private jet with a flight plan to take them to Texas. Witnesses said that the four parties seemed worried, although there was no evidence of any domestic disturbance. A team was quickly assembled in Texas, but when the plane landed at its destination, the only people aboard were two employees of Debbie Malen, and none of the four principals were on board. The plane's flight was backtracked, and it was discovered that they had stopped en route on two occasions, both times reportedly to obtain fuel. It was suggested that one of these stops was where the four people had exited, using standard evasive maneuvers to prevent people from tracking them. Suggestion was made that they had discovered people tracking them, or that the four might be engaged in some illegal activity. No concrete suggestion of motive at this time. It was discovered that Miss Malen had properties that were close to both airports where refueling had been done, and teams were being set up to investigate them. It was found that they rented a car in Salt Lake City, and the focus was shifted to a ranch owned by Miss Malen, which was a short drive from that location. Before contact could be made, the car was reportedly returned at the airport, but there were no records of any flights departing that had the names of any of the four people being tracked. It is suggested that they used assumed names, and no activity was seen on any of the credit cards belonging to any of the people being followed has been found. Suggestion was made that the four have a hoard of cash and are using that to evade paper trails, which further indicates either an attempt to avoid being tracked or possible illegal activity. There is a report that a person matching Mary Cadley's description had been spotted at Newark Airport, and the greater New York/New Jersey area is being investigated for people answering to the four people's descriptions. No leads have turned up yet. Since the person that spotted Miss Cadley said she was alone, it is suggested that the four have split up again and may be in four different places in the country. Another suggestion was that Cadley was using Newark as an intermediary point as a way to confuse the real point of arrival. Based on that suggestion, a more thorough search of Cadley's past indicates that she has extensive training in espionage, intelligence, and counter-intelligence and was being recommended for a position in the DoDIA. Why this information hadn't been discovered sooner is currently being investigated, although the Agency denies any cover-up. A new suggestion is that the four have probably went on separate itineraries to meet at some common location, away from any of Malen's properties. Suggestions include Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Mexico City as a way of escaping local US intelligence teams, making tracking more difficult. Toronto and Vancouver are the current focus points, and Canadian assets are in the process of being procured. Suggestion of any other foreign country is doubtful, since only Porter and Cadley have active passports. ------- "That's quite a lot of information," I admitted. "It is, indeed. Do you want me to add my interpretation of certain events?" William asked. "Interpretation?" Aimee asked. Mary answered. "William classifies his intelligence as facts and interpretation of facts. Facts are things that cannot be disputed. Interpretations can sometimes be in error, but are helpful to fill in the holes and possibly lead to additional facts if the interpretations are correct. Most of what we just heard were the facts, although if most of Doctor Larson's research had been destroyed, there's the question of how William here happens to know about it." "Superb!" smiled William. Neither I nor any of my wives commented at that. William shrugged and said, "My first interpretation: From the information that I have, Jim is one of Larson's Super Empaths, by Larson's assignment of him to head the Zulu Squad." Of course, I would neither confirm nor deny that interpretation. I pointedly did not answer the man. The next statement from Mr. Voder startled most of the others. "Mary might be an Empath, but she appeared on none of Larson's lists." "Interesting," I said, the only member of my "family" that didn't seem startled. "The next couple aren't interpretations, but are based on information other than what I had given you," William explained. He turned to Aimee and said, "Aimee, here, is definitely a Super Empath, as I have investigated her before she worked for James Malen." He turned to his niece and said, "Debbie is an anomaly and cannot be classified by Larson's definitions," William added. "Your father, by the way, was an Empath." "How do you know Debbie is not an Empath?" I asked. "First, Jim, can you answer me a question?" "It depends on the question," I answered, narrowing my eyes. "How would you classify me?" William asked. I studied William. I knew better than to try to probe his mind. I decided to answer honestly. "I have no way of knowing." William raised his eyebrows at that answer. "What if I assure you that I am not an Empath?" "I'll accept that for now," I said. This earned me a slight smile from William. "James Malen was, by Larson's definition, an Empath, although Larson never knew that. He told me that he could occasionally feel people's emotions, but very infrequently, he could also get a feeling of colors from another person, although he never had a way of testing his 'powers' without arousing suspicion." "When did I get tested to see if I was an Empath?" Debbie asked. "Your father recognized your ability, once he understood the concept. He described you as a reverse-Empath, a term that your father coined, but that Larson apparently never classified nor suspected." "What's that?" "You project your emotions, my dear," William said. "That's sort of the opposite of an Empath, who would feel other people's emotions. When you are near, people start to feel the way you do. It's usually very faint, but even I have felt it once. When you are sad, people feel a slight feeling of sadness themselves. Your father's funeral was a difficult time for some people that attended because of that." I felt Debbie's sadness at the mention of her father's funeral. "I rest my case," William said, mostly to himself. "How did James Malen get involved?" I asked, suspecting the answer. Mr. Voder smiled. "Your suspicion is correct, Jim. Debbie's father and I both worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency, and were both familiar with Larson. When we left, we continued to investigate Larson, especially when we thought he might have been responsible for the deaths of two soldiers. I was the intelligence part of the investigation, James provided the financial resources. Records of our work at the DoDIA have been destroyed." "Daddy was a spy?" Debbie asked. "Not everybody that works in intelligence is a spy, Debbie," William answered. "Your father was more of an accountant, although he had intelligence training. He had a rather unique ability to spot financial trends, and he left the agency soon right before your mother died to work on Wall Street. He had a marvelous sense of ethics, and people who let him handle their investments made a lot of money, although he maintained his ties with the DoDIA, unofficially, of course, and with myself." "I'm still finding out the extent of my father's fortune," Debbie said, projecting a bit of melancholy around. Once I had been alerted to Debbie's powers, it was very obvious to me to now spot her projecting her emotions! How had I missed it before? William continued. "Aimee, being an Empath, naturally preferred being around James Malen, and later, his daughter, and then, apparently, Jim. This was something else James Malen noticed--Empaths tend to orbit around one another. Larson was so much focused on what caused them that he really didn't do the research on their behavior. James, being one himself, was more interested in that aspect of them." I found myself nodding. Everything William had said made sense. William continued. "Another interpretation, and something that James never finished investigating. Debbie acts like an Empath, based on the fact of her devotion to her father, and later to Aimee, and then Jim. Of course, the four of you know your own relationship better than I do. I just give you this information in case you case to pursue the line of research that James had started." Aimee, at this point, got up. I briefly reached out into her mind, and found that she was simply going to get some coffee for the four of us. Mr. Voder watched her leave. "Aimee seems definitely uninterested in this line of research." "Aimee has her own interpretation of things," I suggested. "Her interpretation may not completely agree with your own, William, but she has been thinking about this since she was quite young." William nodded. "Do you mind if I continue my interpretation, Jim?" "Not at all." "From some details that were revealed in the investigation of the four of you, it seems to me that you might have rejected Aimee at first for some reason. I figure that the 'wedding reception' that was noted in the intelligence was a celebration of Jim's change of mind." I didn't confirm nor deny this, but his idea stood merit. I rejected Aimee at first because I didn't know if Mary's and Debbie's relationship with me was due to some influence I had over them. Since Aimee seemed to have the same gift, I didn't want to interfere with her at all. That wasn't something that needed to be discussed now, though. Aimee returned with our coffees, and William saw that Aimee had provided his black, but included some cream and sugars. She put the tray down on the table in front of us and we all took sips. William looked around. "I expected to find you at the office yesterday, Jim. I saw Mary the day before scouting around, and since I knew her history, I immediately moved as far away from her as possible, especially when I saw that she was simply scouting the location. I waited, and decided if you didn't show up at the office today, I'd find another way to contact you." "We were in no hurry," I answered. "Mistakes are made when haste is used inappropriately." William smiled. "Your O.C.S. training fits you well. You would have made a wonderful leader." I shrugged. "It wasn't meant to be," I sighed. "If Larson hadn't intervened and assigned you to Zulu Squad, you probably would have been reassigned back to the 75th at Fort Stewart." "The Rangers," I nodded. "I had heard the 82nd." William simply nodded. "I think your profile fit more with the 75th. You still would have worn the black beret." "That was just happening when I had enlisted," I said, remembering. "There were a lot of jokes about the berets." "The Rangers have, and continue, to serve the country well. You would have been an outstanding leader." "Of course, this Zulu Squad thing came up. I was sent to the base in San Diego, and I had no idea what the Zulu Squad was. I was supposed to be briefed the day after the party. I never attended that briefing. I guess it was never meant to be." There was no use crying over spilled milk. After hearing what happened to me in the army, I no longer had a taste for the military. Life moves on. Nobody else said anything for a few minutes as we sipped our coffee. William stood up, stretching his legs. I could hear the joints crack as he stretched. I looked at my wives. Debbie and Aimee nodded their heads, indicating that they all trusted William, while Mary was still noncommittal. I stood up and looked at William, and finally offered him a handshake. "I'm sorry that I didn't trust you fully," I said. "I know a place that is a lot more appropriate for a discussion like this. We can also have a nice meal at the same time." "That sounds fine, William," I said. "Lead the way." We left the rest of our coffee unfinished as we followed Mr. Voder outside the hotel. ------- William took us by cab to a lovely country club where he was apparently a member. He was greeted by name from a number of people there, so it was obvious that he was well known, or at least that the name he had given us was well established. At the restaurant, William asked for a table with some privacy, and we were led into the mostly empty dining room to a round table near the back. "Give us a few minutes, Manuel. I'll signal you when we're ready to order," William said after we were seated. William turned to Mary and said, "The seafood here is excellent, my dear. I heartily recommend the crab cakes." "Thank you," Mary forced a smile. She still looked apprehensive. Turning to Aimee, he suggested the duckling, and the Chicken Pad Thai for Debbie. "I'm sorry, Jim," William said, turning to me. "I'm not sure of your food preferences other than a saline drip." "I'm your typical military steak and potatoes guy," I laughed. "The Steak Diane is excellent," William said. Not once had William even glanced at the menu. "May I ask you if your name is William Voder or William Malen?" I asked. William smiled. "Voder. I'm only Debbie's honorary uncle. I'm actually more like her godfather. I had promised to take care of Debbie if anything would happen to James, but I see that she now has the three of you, all of whom her father would approve, and all of you more eminently qualified to take care of her." I felt a bit of Debbie-inspired melancholy and ignored it. "Despite the fact that I was one of Doctor Larson's so-called experiments, why have you been so interested in me?" I asked. "You scored the highest in Doctor Larson's tests," William answered. "You've used your ability, even if you weren't aware of it. It's extremely rare that an O.C.S. grad comes out as a first lieutenant. You seemed to figure out the secrets to success in O.C.S. quickly, and before that, in all your studies, if you could call what you did in school 'study.'" I laughed. Tests had always been rather easy for me. "Touche." "Anyway, you were also unusual in that you survived Larson's treatment, despite the fact that it was never completed on you," William said. "In addition, I actually had somebody run a test on you after you awoke, using Larson's own non-invasive tests. Your score couldn't be determined, which was strange in and of itself. In other words, Larson's treatment not only didn't kill you, but it could have changed things. Of course, this is just an interpretation of data. Larson's studies were never very rigorous and he never did any study on how potential varies with age, and such. I think that was supposed to be the function of the Zulu Squad: to get more data on Empaths." "Do you still monitor the Empaths in the military?" I asked. "No." "The doctor that gave me the test would be Doctor Farren, I presume." William frowned at my statement. "May I ask where you got that name?" "You may ask," I said evenly. "I will not give you an answer." William continued to frown. "I told you that I have absolutely no psi-potential. That was the God's honest truth." I responded using a flat voice free of emotion. "I accept your statement." William broke his glance at me and looked at Aimee, and then at Debbie. Aimee looked at me as if she were asking permission to speak. I simply nodded. "Mr. Voder... William," Aimee said, softly. "Jim had suspected there was something unusual about that particular doctor before I brought you into the picture. I knew that name while we were at the ranch." "I'll accept that, my dear." William still had a suspicious look, but his frown had lessened. "William," I said. "I am still evaluating you. You have offered me quite a lot of information, but you have left out some. I am not completely sure of your motives, and who you are working for, despite the fact that Debbie's paying you." "That's fair." I felt a wave of worry and I smiled at Debbie and the wave went softer. "It might be a good time to order," I suggested. "Indeed," William said. He glanced over to where Manuel had been standing, and he arrived at the table. I felt a tiny tendril of a thought and recognized Aimee's presence. I opened up and received a message: "Suggest that Mr. Voder order our meals." I had thought the same thing, but didn't know how to poll the girls. Aimee had found a great solution. I realized that Aimee had already done so. William was looking at me expectantly, and I just shrugged. "You know what's good, William. We'll let you order." William smiled brightly. "Manuel, who is in the kitchen today?" "Ramon," the waiter answered. "Most excellent," William grinned. He nodded at Aimee and said, "Aimee will have the duck. Please tell Ramon that Aimee prefers her skin extra crisp." Nodding toward Debbie, he said, "My niece will have the Chicken Pad Thai. Have Ramon add a couple of those little green Thai chilies on top. Can Ramon fix up a Tom Yum Gai soup?" "It may take a few minutes," Manuel smiled. "We have all the time in the world," William said. He nodded toward Mary and said, "Mary will have the crab cakes. Tell Ramon that she is my guest and I expect her cakes will be as good as the ones he makes for me." "Of course." "The gentleman to my right will have the Steak Diane," William continued. He then looked at me. "Medium rare?" I nodded. I usually wasn't particular about how done a steak is. "Medium rare. I'll have the same as well." "Very well," the waiter said. "Jim doesn't drink," William said. "Excuse me," I corrected William for the first time. "The women have been corrupting me." This earned me a laugh from William. "Excellent. Do you enjoy wine?" I only knew the basics of wine, like red meat goes with red wine. I saw two different cuisines. I shrugged and answered, "Whatever you want, William." "How about a bottle of the Taittinger Champagne, Manuel?" "Any particular year?" Manuel asked. William shook his head. "Have the steward decide. Tell him it's me, and that I'm trying to impress my friends. I will send it back if I don't like it." "I will do so." Manuel left. "Our champagne should arrive in ten minutes," William said. We all nodded. William sat back and said, "Now, for the evaluation, Jim. My motives for helping you are purely out of the goodness of my heart. I am working for myself, now. I have people that work for me, but funding is not an issue. I have a lot of money, almost as much as Debbie. Her father was quite successful, and I was one of his clients, just as he was one of mine." I didn't answer this statement. "James Malen and I were part of the group that hired Doctor Larson," William said. "I personally thought Larson was nuts, but sometimes even nut cases get lucky. The only area where I had misjudged him was that I had thought that he was harmless. I think the world is a better place now that he is not in it. I did not kill him, nor did I have him killed, but I would not have hesitated doing so. He put at least three of our servicemen in harm's way." I nodded at this. "James Malen, Debbie's father, had personal reasons for his interest in Larson's work, but I only discovered that near the end of his life. He had received some premonition that he'd die in an accident, and he met with me to come clean, asking me to take care of his daughter. I arranged for his associate, Charles Penet, to encourage Aimee to continue working for Debbie afterward." Everybody could feel Debbie's melancholia. Voder ignored it and continued. "The one thing I would like to do, but will be unable to do is to stop Colonel DiPietro. His charter is from somebody that had a request from a senator, so the investigation cannot be stifled without attracting undue attention. He is a good person, and a good leader. He has some smart people working for him, but I'm pretty sure that he'll lose interest in you. Larson's methods utilized a lot of paper and not computerized files. The only place that he managed to come back from erased files was in computers, so the procedures may be found, but his reasons will probably never be figured out. The best thing I can do for you is to keep abreast of his investigation and maybe send a wild goose or two in his way." I thought hard about what I just heard. William looked up and said, "Ahh, our champagne is arriving." A different waiter arrived and made a production of opening the champagne. He used a towel and the cork came out with a soft "poof" sound. He filled a fluted glass half full, and William took a taste. He smiled and nodded. Soon, all five of us had glasses of champagne in front of us. "What shall we toast?" William asked. "How about the three loveliest ladies in the world?" I suggested. I giggled as I felt a wave of happiness wash over me. How could I have not noticed Debbie's emotional broadcasts before? "Here, here!" William agreed. We all raised our glasses and clinked. The champagne tasted pretty nice. As I said, I'm not much of a drinker, and am, by no means, an expert. After we all sipped our drinks, William said, seriously, "Jim, ladies, today is the last day I'll be able to spend with you. In two days, you will receive an additional package. It will contain passports, bank statements, tax returns, social security cards, and other documents pertinent to your alter egos. Use the passports or driver's licenses to get past customs on your way to Windsor, Ontario. Since I suspect that you used indirect transportation to get to Washington, I would suggest indirectly getting to Windsor over a period of two days, since the searches are looking for people traveling separately using varying itineraries but meeting over a short period of time. From Windsor, arrive together in Vancouver using your real names and identification." "Allow the government to catch up to us?" Mary asked. "Yes," William grinned. "Your cover story is that you and Mary are engaged to be married. I can procure you a marriage license in San Francisco, using your real names. If you prefer, I can have one predated and filed, but I'd rather not use up a useful contact. However, I could still do that by next Friday and alert somebody about it. If you decide to go for a ceremony, I suggest that you have a party to celebrate. The story is that Mary and Debbie are long time friends, since Debbie owns the building where Mary lives. Aimee is simply her associate. Let them keep guessing about Aimee in a wedding dress. It's those facts that don't fit neatly into a convenient box that makes it look like it's not a setup." "A party sounds nice," Debbie said. "Both Mary's and Debbie's apartments in South California are probably bugged. Same for the place in Makena and the ranch in Texas and, now, Utah. Behave accordingly." I nodded. William turned to Mary. "I wish I had met you a few months before you hit Jim with the jeep. How did that happen, by the way, if you don't mind me asking?" "Do you want the truth?" Mary asked William, while looking at me. I nodded to Mary. William already had most of the facts and probably could "interpret" this one. "Would you believe that we only discovered the answer yesterday?" Mary asked. "Indeed?" "Yes," said Mary. "Jim was walking home from a party, staring at the moon and stars. He was completely absorbed in looking at them. As I drove toward him, we connected mentally." I noticed Debbie, Aimee, and William were all listening to Mary in rapt attention. Mary continued. "I found myself looking at the moon and saw the stars... but I realize now that I wasn't looking up. I was looking through my windshield. Apparently, I was looking at the stars through Jim's eyes. It was a single image. No other thought. Then there was a bump, and the connection broke. The rest of the story is exactly how I told the M.P.s. I lost my concentration and originally thought I hit a dog. I soon found, to my horror, that I had just killed my first soldier, and he was one of ours." William nodded at the story. "I had suspected it might be something like that." Mary continued. "I could not stay in the service after that. I threw away my career, and pissed off some dear friends and influential people for doing that, but eventually people understood. I was willing to risk a dishonorable discharge, but instead I got an honorable one. I visited shrinks, who told me that my obsession with Jim was unhealthy, but I kept visiting him just about every day. I took whatever jobs that I could find that were near the hospital where Jim was staying. I worked at a restaurant, a department store, and a bank." William nods. "That information is in your file." Mary nodded. William continued, uninterested in my comment. "I am not interested in Empaths--Debbie's father was the one intrigued by Larson's work, but only because he had a personal interest in it, since he and his daughter had such tendencies. I have no such tendencies, myself. My interest is personal: I made a promise to James Malen." "You said that already," I pointed out. "Whether you are Empaths or not, it is not interesting to me," William said. "Not being an Empath, I do not have the same interest in this that James had. I know for a fact that Larson's notes no longer exist. Neither James Malen nor I, who would be the only ones other than Larson who could have possibly copied it, had done so. Neither of us were trained surgeons, and we wouldn't trust anybody enough to share that information, especially considering Larson's lack of success with his treatment. I'm giving you the information that I'm privy to solely at the request of Debbie's father." I simply nodded. William turned to Debbie. "I have promised James Malen that I would look after his daughter. I will do so until my body is no longer able to continue. By extension, I will also look after all of you. That will mean that I will only be monitoring you actively at any time when the government does so--I still have contacts in the intelligence agencies. I imagine that with the exception of the week or so that you spend here, you will look like a harmless and lucky person, Jim." "I hope so," I said. "Right now, a new suggestion is being added to Colonel DiPietro's files," William said. "It suggests that one of the field agents was spotted by Mary, who has intelligence experience, and her reaction was to lay low until she could find out who it was. The suggestion would be to relax surveillance accordingly. That should give you some breathing room." William turned to Mary. "Darling, it would be interesting for you to contact a number that I will include in your package. You should recognize the voice that answers that number from your service. Ask if anybody from the service is following you, and why. Also make small talk. Tell the person you got married or are getting married to the gentleman that you had hit, and you are helping him get reacquainted to a new decade, having lost twelve years in a coma. Fill in any harmless blanks, including the fact that you also spent time in Windsor and Vancouver. Mention Debbie and Aimee, and how the four of you are inseparable. Provide accurate but innocuous information." As I said, William was very thorough. A couple of waiters arrived with fixings for a salad as well as Debbie's soup. We watched the waiter assemble the dressing for a Caesar salad (you do NOT want to know what goes into it!), and then tossed the salad with some grated cheese and large toasted bread croutons. Each of us got a portion. The salad tasted much nicer than the ingredients would have led me to think. William handed out business cards to me and my wives. I noticed it was a different card from the one he handed me earlier. "These have an assumed name and the number for an answering service. Call it and ask for my real name, William Voder. They will tell you that you have a wrong number. Repeat your request, asking for the name on the card and leave your information, and I will contact you as soon as possible. Use this in an emergency. Aimee already knows how to contact me, and I will continue talking to her via email." I pocketed the card. The meal was as excellent as I would expect from a person like William Voder. Actually, he exceeded expectations, and that is a rather high compliment to William as well as the kitchen staff at the restaurant. ------- Chapter 17 "Imagine how the world would be, so very fine, so happy together..." That evening, William Voder took the four of us to a jazz club in Falls Church. Since I had not yet adapted to the sounds of the eighties, Mary and I had discovered that we really enjoyed jazz clubs, especially during our days on the big island in Hawaii. As I mentioned before, I don't drink much. However, we were in a bar, so I ordered a light beer at first, finishing the rest of the night drinking ginger ale. Mary had a glass of red wine, and Debbie and Aimee were a little more experimental, drinking frozen margaritas. William had a single malt scotch, suggesting that I might want to try something like that some day; he nursed the one drink the entire time he was at the club. Over the noise in the club, I had a private conversation with William. I knew for a fact that my wives weren't listening in any capacity and were instead listening to the band playing. "I've finally made my decision about you," I said. "I'm glad to hear it," William said. "Are you interested in what it is?" William sighed. "I know you very much, Jim. I also know that you have a very important secret and that I represent a danger of your secret being exposed. If you don't trust me completely, I doubt that I would be breathing right now, probably at Mary's hand." I stared at the man sitting next to me. There was no humor in his eyes. "Why Mary, may I ask?" "Mary would be a better assassin. She was trained for it." I was surprised by that statement, since Mary never told me much about her service in the army. I kept my reaction minimal. I considered what William had said. "Mary doesn't trust you." After a few moments, William said, "You're only stating the obvious, Jim." A little later, I decided to show William how much I trusted him. "You were correct on the Empath thing. I'm not sure I like the term, especially since it doesn't seem related entirely to emotions, although they seem to be a part of it. I can see how Empath would apply to Aimee and Debbie, though." "That subject has no interest to me," William replied. "I know about it because I've seen Larson's notes. Malen was also interested in you, but I believe that he thought that Larson's treatment was the reason you never came out of the coma." I nodded. "Comas seem to be poorly understood." "I didn't mention this in front of the others, Jim. Malen purchased an apartment complex near your hospital where I stayed while trying to get the goods on Larson. I made a few comments to the nurses monitoring you, and through the gossip pool, the nurses suggested that Mary could get a very good deal on an apartment at that complex. Neither of us ever anticipated that apartment would be a place where you, Mary, Debbie, and Aimee would meet. It was a fortuitous coincidence, actually." "You don't mind the fact that Debbie considers me her husband, as do the others?" Taking another sip from his glass, Voder said, "I would suggest that you keep your family small. DiPietro may not be tasked to find out your personal secrets, but if he discovers a polygamous or polyamorous relationship, he will not hesitate in alerting the local authorities anonymously. He is an honest man, but if he sees what he thinks is a crime, it will be reported." I nodded, while listening to a lovely saxophone solo, sipping at my ginger ale. I thought about this new information. Finally, I said, "I don't intend to add to this family, unless one or more of my wives have stopped using birth control. I never approached any of my wives, except perhaps Mary, but she was already visiting me every day even before I woke up. Debbie and Aimee also approached me, rather than the other way around. Your suggestion about keeping our relationship low-key is good advice." This earned me raised eyebrows. "I'm glad to hear that." William turned his attention from the band and looked at me. "I trust you, Jim. You have always acted responsibly, and you have shown excellent leadership abilities and have a good sense of ethics. I know from experience that Aimee is a good person as well, and the fact that she's with you and allows Debbie in your relationship speaks volumes about you. I think Aimee, Mary, and you will be a great influence on Debbie, and I ask you to make the same promise to me that I made to James Malen: please take care of her." "It will be my honor, William," I said. William Voder nodded and said, "I just said I trust you, Jim. I would like you all to maintain contact with me." "That would be nice." "Aimee knows how to contact me," Voder continued. "So does Charles Penet." "I'll remember that." William didn't stay very long after that. I think he had been waiting for me to say something, and even if it was stating the obvious, I think he needed to hear it from me. I had a feeling that we would be seeing each other again. ------- We followed William's advice and flew separate itineraries that all ended up in Windsor, Ontario. I crossed the border by bus between Detroit and Windsor. It's one of the few places in our country where you can cross the border into Canada by going south. It was a very short trip to customs, where I passed with my "Simon" identification without any trouble. I was the last member of our family to arrive in Windsor, and after meeting up, we took a flight using Debbie's credit card to Vancouver. We stayed two days in Vancouver before flying out to Chicago. Mary alerted me mentally that we had people following us by the time that we got to baggage claim in Chicago. We decided to stay at a luxury hotel instead of Debbie's Chicago property, in order to hopefully keep the Chicago property "bug free." One of the first things that Mary did when we got to our hotel was to call the number that William gave her. She recognized the person on the other end as her old Captain--now a major. She chatted about her upcoming wedding and that she actually had a bachelorette party a couple of weeks before. It only took me a couple of minutes listening to the conversation to realize that Mary's major was a female. Mary was quite convincing. She even mentioned that she thought she spotted somebody following us earlier in Hawaii and now in Chicago, but said her fiancee was trying to convince her that she was just paranoid. The conversation lasted about twenty minutes, and Mary played her part pretty well. I wondered what kind of mischief Mary's call would cause. ------- The next morning, I was awakened by Aimee snuggling her face along my right side while giving my morning erection a very light hand job. Aimee looked up into my eyes as they opened, and I smiled at her. Receiving a hand job in the morning from Aimee was a wonderful way to wake up from a slumber. The only thing better (it was really a toss up) was one of Mary's magnificent blow jobs. Aimee had a light touch and the way she snuggled her nude body against mine made the two of us feel so close together, without even needing us to share our minds. Debbie and Mary weren't in the bedroom, and I reached out and found that they were snuggling together on a sofa in the living area within the suite. I pulled back, affording them their privacy, but not before I felt a "good morning, lover" message from both Mary and Debbie. I smiled at Aimee, and she moved up my body and kissed me on the lips. "I will love you forever, Master," she whispered. "Good morning, Precious," I answered, using the pet name that Aimee loved the most. "You make that promise to me a lot." Aimee just looked at me. "You don't believe in an afterlife. If you say that, you really mean, 'You will love me for the rest of your life.' I mean even more, Master." First thing in the morning always seemed to be a difficult time for me to have mind to mind sex, a phenomenon that I figured was due to the fact that this kind of mind connection took more effort than simply sending and receiving a simple message. The solution, of course, was to avoid that sort of sex, and settle for good old fashioned rubbing body parts together. Now that Aimee's body was further up toward mine, she was in a better position for me. I reached between her legs and started to caress the folds of skin there. Aimee's kiss deepened, and her hand moved from my cock to grab my shoulders. I felt Aimee reach into my brain, and I did the same to her. As I said, it wasn't easy for me in the morning, but Aimee was pretty strong in the mind department, and seemed to take up some of the effort that I would have normally have to expend. This was a method of making love that Aimee loved the most, and I couldn't deny her. Inside her mind, I could feel Aimee's need, and I moved downward so my lips were now between her legs. I located Aimee's clit immediately and took it between my lips. I felt her reaction within her mind, and was amazed at the amount of pleasure such a small piece of her could elicit. I was aware of Aimee squirming in response, and I continued licking around it and on it, maximizing her pleasure. I sucked her tender spot and started penetrating her hole with first one and then two fingers. Aimee's motions became more regular, her pussy moving up and down, and I moved with her, and we both experienced the wave of her first orgasm as it slowly built to its climax. There were warm lips on my cock, and I didn't need to look to know that Debbie had joined us in bed. I could feel her tongue licking slowly against the shaft, reaching down to my pubic hair before moving back toward the tip. Another tongue started to wash my scrotum and I realized that Mary had joined Debbie's oral ministrations. I was awakened enough now, and I opened Aimee's and my minds to include our two wives. It didn't take long for the girls' oral stimulations to make me approach my point of no return. I felt Aimee's mind cry out with need as she continued to feel my tongue between her legs and also the effect that her two wives had on me. Aimee's arms pulled my head closer to her body, almost with a death grip. I continued to stimulate her between her legs, and inhaled the aroma of her arousal. As my organ started to pulse, Debbie had shifted her position so that she was now sucking me. I pumped jet after jet into her willing mouth. Aimee pulled my head upward, and I slowly moved up her body, kissing her small but sensitive breasts before reaching her neck, which I licked and nibbled briefly. I then kissed my darling Aimee, noticing that Debbie and Mary had repositioned themselves on the bed, with Mary now sucking my spent cock, and in Aimee's mind, I could feel Debbie licking between Aimee's legs. Aimee and I continued to kiss while my other two wives continued to lightly pleasure us. Aimee seemed quite out of breath, reveling in the after-effects of two of her own orgasms plus my own. We finished our kiss, and I looked down at my other two wives for the first time. Mary had a hardening cock in her mouth and was staring at Debbie, who had her face buried between Aimee's legs. I could tell that Debbie's talented tongue was torturing Aimee even more than mine had done, and I joined Mary, watching Debbie's beautify blonde hair move up and down, her arms wrapped around Aimee's legs. I moved within Aimee's mind, finding her pleasure center, and started to amplify the sensations that Aimee was feeling. Aimee's eyes rolled up until her irises disappeared, her face a mask of pure joy. Mary moved my body so that I was further away from Aimee, and was now stroking my cock, which was once again fully erect. Mary guided the lower half of my body closer to Aimee, and used the connection to my mind to adjust her hands rubbing me to bring me to the point of orgasm. I felt Aimee's own orgasm start to flow as Debbie continued her relentless attack on Aimee's clitoris. This outburst of pleasure, which I had magnified, triggered my own orgasm, as Mary continued jacking me, my cock spurting out its seed onto both Aimee and Debbie. My orgasm subsided, and Mary moved over to Aimee and started licking up the aftermath of my orgasm, running her tongue over Aimee's pubic hair and Debbie's downy hair. With the exception of Mary's gentle cleaning action, the girls lay silently. Having the three most amazing girls in the world willing to pleasure you and each other completely was something that I would treasure my entire life. How many men my age would be able to have two orgasms before getting out of bed in the morning? ------- I took a quick shower, alone, and then went downstairs to the lobby. I saw that the check-in desk had no lines, so I went over and talked to the person behind the counter. "Hey... is there a good jazz club around here?" The clerk looked at me as if I was stupid. "You mean, other than the Isle of the Goddess?" "I never heard of that place," I said. The clerk shook his head. "Where have you been? The Goddess is the best place in the country for jazz, period. I think the House Band is playing tonight. I promise you won't be disappointed." I sighed. I didn't like being reminded that I had been out of touch with reality for a dozen years. I also disapproved of the term "house band." I wondered what kind of kickback the hotel got for that recommendation. "Thanks for the tip," I said, feigning interest. Upstairs, I found that Mary and Aimee were taking a shower together. I smiled at this, and told Debbie, who had already showered, about my misgivings about the hotel's recommendation. "The Isle of the Goddess?" Debbie asked me, incredulously. "That's right. We're in Chicago! This is the original location!" "I never heard of it," I said. "Oh yeah," Debbie said, projecting a tiny sense of sadness. "It opened about six or seven years ago." Debbie saw me reacting to her sadness and she intentionally sent out a small feeling of happiness to me. "Sorry about that," she added, when she realized that she was "leaking" her emotions. "I never realized that I did that." "I never knew you did it until William pointed it out. I remember feeling something about it in Aimee's mind, but I thought it was just the fact that the two of you had been close for a time before you met me. Now, I think I'm getting hypersensitive to it!" "I know," Debbie said. "I'm still trying to get used to it myself. It seems that Aimee and you are mostly affected, but when I feel strongly about something, Mary can feel it as well." I smiled. "Well, like I've told you many times since I found out, you are one person that can definitely light up an entire room with a smile!" The sadness in the room completely melted into joy. Debbie remembered what I had just said before we went off on this tangent. "Back to the Isle," she said, radiating excitement. "It opened in 1981 or 1982, and Rolling Stone had the owners on the cover. It's owned by a husband and wife. They now have clubs in Los Angeles, New York, Memphis, and New Orleans." "Well, it might not be too good tonight. I was told they had a house band tonight." Debbie's excitement actually went up a notch. "Jim, the owners actually perform in what they call the 'House Band' rotating from city to city about half the year." "The owners are part of the house band?" I asked. "Yeah," Debbie said. "Weird. You can only get recordings of the House Band at the clubs. You can't find them in the record stores." "Sounds like the labels don't like that house band." Debbie shook her head. "It's the other way around, according to the Rolling Stone article. They have been known to throw record promoters out of their clubs. It's a strict policy!" I laughed. Debbie shrugged. "Anyway, if the House Band is in town, you'll need to find the concierge to get tickets. Tickets to the Goddess sell out months in advance, especially if the House Band is in town." "Tickets sell out? For a jazz club?" I asked. "Uh, huh." I noticed Aimee standing in the doorway. "What's up, Precious?" I asked. "I was listening to the two of you," Aimee confessed. "Do you want me to call the concierge? I've never heard the House Band play and they're supposed to be awesome." "Sure. It's only money!" I grinned. Happiness flooded the room. ------- There is nothing that can destroy a good time more than a big build up. I knew that all three of my wives were chomping at the bit to go to the Isle of the Goddess. I was told that they served pretty nice food there and limited liquor, and the entrance fee entitled you to a table for the night. The concierge had told Aimee that getting into the club, even with tickets, could be difficult. He arranged a limo to pick us up and to drop us off at the club. What greeted us was utter chaos. The limo driver knew that we were going to the Isle, and he knew exactly where to drop us off. One of the bouncers saw me and three of the loveliest women in the world get out of the limo, and he came over. "Tickets?" "I already have four," I grinned, pretending that I misunderstood the guy to be a scalper. I fanned them. "Funny," the bouncer said, his face belying what he said. He turned toward the main entrance and signaled another bouncer. "Charley, let these four in." "Charley" nodded his head, and we walked toward him. I went to show him the tickets, but he just waved us in past the crowd. Inside, it was much more quiet. There were pictures on three walls. On one wall was a collage of pictures in varying sizes of a lovely blonde girl. On another wall were similar collage of a nondescript guy. A lot of his pictures had him playing various instruments. On a third wall was pictures of the two people together, including what appeared to be a wedding picture, and pictures of the two with famous music legends, such as B. B. King, Little Richard, Elton John, and a few other people that I couldn't immediately place. "That's them," Debbie said, radiating excitement. "Who?" "The owners!" Debbie enthused, referring to the blonde and the guy. "Oh." I found the maitre d'hotel, and showed him our tickets. He looked impressed at me and my companions. "One of the best tables." He paused, looking at me and my three companions. "You are one lucky man. Front row, center!" We were led to a seat that was indeed exactly front row, center. For a place as popular as it seemed outside, the seating was rather sparse. Although we were at the front, we were still about twenty feet from the stage. There was plenty of space between the tables. I had expected the place with the crowds that I had seen coming in to have tables packed like sardines. "Having less tables improves the acoustics," Debbie said, noticing my reaction. "They could make twice as much if they just forgot about the acoustics." "Then we wouldn't be the best jazz club in the world," the maitre d' chuckled. I laughed in response and handed the man a fifty dollar bill. He deftly returned it to me, shaking his head. This was another first for me. ------- The meal was wonderful. The menu was written in beautiful hand-drawn calligraphy and had the current date on it, giving me the impression that they have a new menu every night depending on the whim of the chef. We all found something we liked. During our meal, I had noticed that every table was full and the place still sounded pretty quiet. This was quite unlike any jazz club I that I had ever seen. With the exception of the stage, it looked much like an elegant restaurant. The menu mentioned that they had an extremely strict policy on alcohol. One bottle of wine per table, and two drinks maximum during the performance. Again, this was unusual. I had never heard of a "two drink maximum" ever in my life. I didn't drink much anyway, but was glad that the place wouldn't degenerate into a drunken party at the end of the night. It might actually be an enjoyable night out after all. I passed on dessert, as did most of my wives. Aimee ordered the Goddess Food Cake, which turned out to be a renamed Angel Food Cake, with chocolate covered peanuts on top. Aimee squealed in delight--she was a devoted chocoholic. I noticed that Mary and Debbie both helped her with the peanuts. Our waiter came over to our table and said, "The music is about to start. I'm not allowed to take drink orders during the performance, so if any of you would like a cocktail, you should order it now. We have ice buckets if you order beer or any other drink that you might need to keep cold if you want." I remembered the brand of single malt scotch that William had nursed a few nights ago, and asked for that. Aimee and Debbie ordered margaritas on the rocks, and Mary decided on a glass of merlot, and was surprised when the waiter showed her a wine list of names of the different brands. Mary selected one and the waiter smiled. Our drinks arrived promptly, and a few minutes later, the lights started to dim. "Chicago's original Isle of the Goddess is proud to present, back from their successful engagement in New Orleans, the one... the only... Oogie Woogie and his House Band!" There were cheers as the band came on stage. I had expected a much older band, but it seemed that the oldest person was about thirty. I noticed the blonde from the pictures in the lobby was standing behind a bank of keyboards. It took me a few moments to find the man... he was talking with a trumpet player before backing toward the front of the stage, his back still to the audience. The man turned around. "Hi, everybody," the man said, speaking into a microphone. "I'm Oogie Woogie..." This was interrupted by enthusiastic applause that Oogie Woogie gratefully acknowledged. "Thank you. Tonight we have two special guests, both of them famous actors! The first is Toby 'Earplugs' McConnell... a friend of our family from high school, believe it or not. You'll probably remember him from the movie 'Past Lives.' He was also a member of the original House Band..." The trumpet player Oogie had been talking to stood up to applause. "We also have another movie star! Playing the saxophone, and forcing us to find a working AKG 414 mike at the last minute..." This time, Oogie Woogie was interrupted by laughter from his own band. "You might remember him from the Blues Brothers, and he also did the score from 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit!' The inimitable Tom Scott!" A saxophonist stood up to applause at this announcement. Mary noticed that I had no idea who these two celebrities were, and she moved close to me and whispered, "Tom Scott played sax on Paul McCartney's 'Listen to What the Man Said.'" I remembered that song. It was a silly song, but the sax part was actually quite good. I smiled and applauded. Oogie continued, "We're going to do two forty-five minute sets tonight. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the Isle of the Goddess' famous House Band!" Furious applause. I noticed that Aimee was looking at Oogie Woogie strangely. I leaned over to her and asked her what was up. She told me that she got a strange vibe from the man. "It's nothing evil or bad, but it is quite strange," Aimee said. I shrugged, and wondered if the man was an Empath of some sort. As I have mentioned previously, I was lost within the current sounds of the 1980's, which is why I really liked jazz clubs. This club didn't disappoint. I recognized the first song was the Peter Gunn theme, which had been an old television show in the 1960's. That quickly segued into another song that I didn't recognize. The entire set seemed to work that way. I recognized some songs as standards, and just enjoyed the ones that I didn't know. Oogie occasionally played trumpet solos and duets with Toby McConnell, but sometimes he moved over to the keyboard set with the blonde bombshell and they played killer duets together. Tom Scott was a wonderful soloist, as well. The songs weren't limited to just jazz. I recognized "Runaway" played in two different styles. The first style was a rather funky R&B style that was sung by the blonde at the keyboard, who was strumming an acoustic guitar playing just back beats. Her voice sounded like a southern torch singer. Oogie was behind the keyboards, but didn't appear to be playing. I didn't know why he wasn't at the front directing the song, as he did for most of the other songs they performed. The song seemed to be a minor key variation of the original Del Shannon song; an interesting variation that I had never heard before. After the second verse, the blonde kept singing, "My little runaway," over and over with that weird minor key variation... until Oogie started playing the keyboards, playing the familiar arpeggios that were more familiar to me from the song, and he was joined now by the blonde playing the guitar now at "normal" speed. Oogie's voice imitated Del Shannon's almost perfectly, sounding more nasal than it did on his other vocals. Oogie also played the ultra-high-note solo on a smaller keyboard above the one he was playing and I noticed that the blonde had, by the time of the solo, moved her guitar behind her and that Oogie and the blonde were now playing duets on the keyboards. On the last verse, he was playing the high organ part and accompanied by Tom Scott on saxophone. I was damned impressed. At the ending of Runaway, the band stood, and I realized that this was the end of the set. Instinctively, I rose out of my seat and applauded the band. They had actually managed to live up to the hype. I wasn't the only person out of his or her seat, either. The crowd was chanting "Oogie!" over and over, and I decided to join them. Oogie and the blonde bowed and the band left the stage as the lights went up. "That was a fantastic set," I said. "I hear they do the easy stuff for the first set," Debbie said. "They call it the warm up. The second set is supposed to be really great. Remember to shout 'Oogie' and 'Goddess' at the end, and they may do a special encore." I shrugged. It's not every night you hear a performance like the one I had just witnessed, and there was going to be another set. I didn't know if my heart could take it. The waiter came out and asked us if any of us wanted refills. I still had half of my scotch, which, after the first sip, tasted quite good if I just sipped it slowly. I decided against a second, but I felt Mary send me a signal to get a beer. "Um, beer?" I said, not knowing if the waiter would serve me a drink since I had an unfinished scotch. "Certainly," the waiter answered. "House Beer or bottle?" "You have a House Beer, too?" I asked, laughing. The waiter must have heard that one before. "I've been lucky with the house tonight," I said. Mary ordered the house beer as well, as did my other two wives. I was sipping my scotch, wondering if I had to finish this before the beer arrived, when Oogie and the blonde came to our table. "Hello, people. We're the owners," Oogie said. I stood up and offered my hand to the blonde. "I'm Jim Montgomery." I looked at each of my wives as I said, "and these are my dates. Debbie Malen, Aimee Porter, and my fiancee, Mary Cadley. That was a fantastic set!" "Thank you," the blonde said. "Did you say, fiancee?" Mary blushed a little and nodded. "When is the date?" Oogie asked. "Next week, in San Francisco," I answered. "Jet setters, huh?" Oogie said. "We like traveling," I grinned. The blonde looked at Oogie. "Well, we must have a present for the couple!" "Certainly, Goddess!" Oogie said. He pulled out some cards from his pocket. It had a picture of a purple ticket on it and the logo for the club that said, "Isle of the Goddess," "Lucky Ticket," and "Original House Band," each on separate lines. Oogie handed four tickets to me and said, "These are good at any Isle of the Goddess location, even Los Angeles. You aren't a record promoter, are you?" "No," I laughed. "I used to be a captain in the army. I just came out of a twelve year coma." "Twelve years?" the blonde asked, appalled. "That's awful!" I shook my head. "Getting out is actually nice. Being in a coma is what's awful." "Were you hurt in action?" Oogie asked. "No," I smiled. "Mary, here, ran me over with a jeep." This was greeted by good natured laughter by everybody at our table, and our hosts joined in. "How precious!" Oogie said. "Kris here was my high school sweetheart." Oogie found a pen in his pocket and wrote on the tickets, "AEP JC." "AEP JC?" I asked. "All expenses paid. JC is just my initials. My name is Jim, too. The Goddess next to me is Kris." I was still holding Kris' hand, so I bowed down and kissed the back of her hand. "I'm very pleased to meet you." Kris beamed. I had received a sudden sensation when I touched Kris' hand, a familiar one that I had felt one time before. I smiled and decided not to say anything. "We need to visit the other tables, Jim. It was nice meeting you." We all said our good-byes. They headed to the next table, and I was surprised when Kris screamed, "Patty! Cammy! I didn't know you were in Chicago! Jim... fetch Toby and Tom!" Aimee had been studying the couple when they were at our table. She noticed me looking at her now, and said, "He's not like one of us, but there's still something magical about him." "He's a talented musician," I pointed out. "He seems to have a great singing voice." "He can imitate many musicians," Debbie noticed. "He nailed Billy Joel's piano solo on 'Angry Young Man' perfectly." I didn't recognize the name or the song, and Debbie said, "That was the one with the staccato piano solo on the grand piano that looked like he was playing the drums. He segued that into 'New York State of Mind' afterward. I think both songs are from the same album. I have it in my Los Angeles place, I think." I remembered the song that sounded like a love song to the Big Apple and smiled. I adjusted my thoughts about music that was written while I had been sleeping, and thought that learning new sounds might be fun. The waiter arrived with our drinks. He saw the tickets that Oogie had put in front of me and his eyes opened wide. "Are you a friend of the family?" "No. Oogie gave me these when he heard that Mary and I will be getting married next week." "Congratulations!" the waiter said. "Thank you," Mary and I said together. I noticed Oogie coming back to the other table with the Toby McConnell and Tom Scott. I hadn't noticed that there had been two empty chairs at that table. (Actually, there hadn't, I found out later. Kris had asked the waiter to bring out the two additional chairs.) My scotch had not been taken away, so I had both a half glass of scotch and a large glass of beer. I'm not much of a beer person, but I took a sip. It tasted malty and not too bitter. A rather good house beer. I decided that I'd be going to the Isle of the Goddess in every location that they had. I mentioned this idea to Debbie, who told me that it was a date. Oogie and Kris had moved on to another table, and Toby and Tom had remained at the table, talking with the two girls that were there. Toby was talking animatedly to the red head, and telling stories to the entire table. Tom Scott was laughing politely. I watched Oogie and Kris go from table to table, mostly just saying "Hi" and introducing themselves, asking how the food is, etc. I felt honored that they took so much time at our table. There was no introduction for the second set. The band, minus the two guest stars, simply came on the stage, followed by Oogie and Kris. The music started with a powerful intro, which I immediately recognized as the intro to "You Made Me So Very Happy," by Blood, Sweat, and Tears. A soulful Oogie started singing, "I lost at love before..." Immediately, Kris grabbed his mike and turned to Oogie and shouted, "You most certainly did NOT!" bringing the song to a complete stop. The band started laughing, and soon was joined by the entire audience. Oogie took his mike back, and said to the audience. "For those keeping score, it's Goddess 481, Oogie 1." "Oogie ZERO," Kris shouted. Oogie sighed and said, "I give up, dear." He turned serious and then added, "I wish to dedicate this next song to a special couple in the audience." I smiled. I was going to find out who those two girls were that were sitting with Toby and Tom. "We have a couple that will be taking their wedding vows next week!" Oh, shit. We were the special couple! "Jim and Mary, please stand up!" Obediently, Mary and I got up and received polite applause. "I wish to dedicate this next song to our new friends, Jim and Mary. People... these two people met in the army where Mary ran Jim over with a jeep!" We received polite laughter. "Now that Jim has awakened from a twelve year coma, they're finally getting married!" Aaaws accompanied this announcement. I smiled at how accurate Oogie's short description was. "Jim and Mary, being married myself to this wonderful Goddess, it is my wish you will find the happiness in your lives that Kris and I have found in ours!" More applause. Oogie looked back at the drummer and a bass player. He whispered to Kris and then started playing a familiar intro. Imagine me and you, I do, I think about you day and night, It's only right, To think about the girl you love, And hold her tight, So happy together... ------- If I didn't know that the group that recorded this song in the mid-sixties would be at least thirty years older than Oogie, I would have sworn that I was actually listening to Flo and Eddie playing their big hit. I saw Mary looking at me, tears in her eyes. I knew immediately that this was going to be "our song." I had always loved this particular song. I listened to each verse as Oogie sang it and wondered if this was a normal part of their repertoire. Perhaps Oogie probably did this song for every couple that were celebrating their engagement or wedding, but it still felt quite special to me. I noticed that Kris (and a lot of the band) didn't play on this song. Instead, Kris just stared at Oogie with a look of love and devotion that I'd only seen in the faces of three other females in my entire life. After the band finished the song that was dedicated to us, Toby and Tom ran back on stage and helped out with the rest of the set. Aside from that first song, Debbie had been correct. The second set was technically more complicated and interesting. I didn't recognize many of the tunes, but found myself totally enjoying the experience. At the end of the second set, the band stood up to thunderous applause. I looked around, and saw just about every employee of the place was standing against the walls and they were applauding as well. People starting shouting "Oogie!" and "Goddess!" and we added our voices into the mix. Oogie looked at Kris and the two shrugged. Oogie kissed Kris and took a few deep breaths. Finally, he nodded to the audience. From all around me, the waiters and some of the customers started chanting, "Ouga chaka! Ouga, Ouga... !" I remembered that song as well. It was "Hooked on a Feeling" done the way that Blue Swede performed it. It turned out that Oogie could very well imitate Blue Swede's voice as well. The arrangement seemed quite simplistic compared the songs that they had just performed, but it was enjoyable. Once again I noticed Kris didn't even play. She just stared at Oogie, with that look of complete love and dedication in her eyes. For some reason, that look in Kris' eyes brought tears to my eyes. I wasn't alone. All three of my wives seemed to feel the same way. I know it wasn't the song, nor was it the arrangement. We were looking at two people, totally in love and totally committed to one another. Oogie's wish that we find the happiness in our lives that Kris and Oogie found wouldn't be an easy wish to fulfill. I hoped that I'd do them justice. That song was the last for the night. I saw waiters bring checks to most tables, and after a couple of minutes, I signaled our waiter. "You haven't brought our check." "Kristen picked it up, and the one for the two girls at the table next to you." I turned to the table where the two musicians had been sitting, and saw that Toby McConnell had returned and was talking with the red head again. "How much was it? I should at least leave a tip!" "Kris covered the tip. I'm not allowed to accept tips from you." "Please. We're not hurting for money!" The waiter shook his head. "Listen, friend. I've seen Jim and Kris make dedications before. This was the first time in my memory that he didn't just name you and sing the first verse of 'Get Me To The Church On Time!'" "Really?" I asked, astonished. "Really." "Is he back stage? I'd like to thank them." "I think that Jim and Kris may already have left. They have to drive an hour to get home." "No shit! They commute an hour each way... every day... to their own club?" The waiter smiled. "They both have pilot's licenses, but I saw Kris's Camaro parked out back, so I know they're driving." I was floored. Aimee sent me a signal. I looked at her as if to say, "Should I?" and she nodded. "Can you please do me a favor?" I asked the waiter. "Sure." "Aimee, can you give me one of Debbie's business cards?" Aimee already had one in her hand. "Can I borrow a pen?" Again, Aimee had already anticipated my request. I wrote a quick note: "Congratulations on your first baby, Kris. Thanks for the meals and the lucky tickets. All our love. Jim, Mary, Debbie, and Aimee." Aimee handed me an envelope and I put the card into it. Aimee had maintained eye contact with the waiter as I wrote, so I was pretty confidant that he didn't see what I had written. "Please give this to Kristen when you see her again," I said, handing the envelope to the waiter. "Tell her it's private and it's from the engaged couple that she gave the free tickets to." The waiter took the envelope and left. I hoped Kris would appreciate my note. Something told me that Oogie probably didn't even know her condition. ------- That night, I had thought that I would be spending the night with Mary, since she was going to technically be my fiancee, at least it would look to the outside world that she was. Instead, Aimee and Mary silently took the spare bedroom, leaving me with Debbie. I've described Debbie as being enthusiastic in bed, and I now realize that one of the reasons for that is that she indeed projects her feelings outward. It is very difficult to ignore it when Debbie is sharing an orgasm as if she were a little radio transmitter. Tonight, however, I sensed something else in Debbie. She just wanted to be hugged. I had seen the tears in her eyes as she watched the husband and wife at the club freely display their affection for one another in just a simple look, and I knew that she, as well as all of us, had been affected. Debbie just wanted to be held. We both stood nude just inside the master bedroom for the suite, and without any warning, I picked Debbie up from the floor and carried her to the bed. I placed her down lovingly on the bed, and then laid down next to her, and our arms held our bodies together. "I truly love you, Jim," Debbie whispered. "I know, and I love you, too, my little Transmitter." Debbie smiled at the pet name and we kissed. This was one of the first times in my life that I spent a night with Debbie without actively making love. For a person that expressed so much of her emotions physically, it was a tender moment between the two of us that neither one of us would ever forget. ------- I was awakened from a peaceful slumber by the sound of the telephone ringing. I looked at the alarm clock, and it was 9:00 AM. Since I was the closest body to the phone, I reached over and said, "Jim Montgomery." There was a female on the line. "Why did you write that note?" I drew a blank until I remembered what I had scribbled on the back of Debbie's business card. "Oh, that! I got a feeling about that when you and Jim were speaking to us." "Huh?" the voice asked. "I thought you were pregnant. If you're not..." "That's not what I was talking about!" "I'm sorry. I thought I was talking to a lady named Kris." "This is Kristen Swift-Crittenhouse. My husband and I own the Goddess clubs." "That's who I thought you were," I said. "So, why did you write it?" "Write what?" I said, confused. "The second part." I tried to remember what I wrote. I had congratulated her on her first baby and thanked her for the meal and the tickets. "Thank you?" I asked. "What you wrote..." "I think I wrote, 'Thank you for the meals and the lucky tickets.'" There was a pause. "What did you mean by that?" "You comped us our meals, and you gave us tickets that were good at any Isle of the Goddess. We intend to take you up on your generous offer." Another pause. "You didn't mean anything else?" "No." Kristen sounded relieved, "Oh! I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" "Not really," I lied. There was another pause. "Hey!" she said, and then added with a whisper. "How did you know I was pregnant? Not even Oogie knows that yet! I was going to tell him this morning!" Not just pregnant, but pregnant with her first. I think that was a bit of showing off, I thought to myself. I had to think quickly. "I told you before, I just had this feeling." "Oh." "I sometimes feel things like that. My friend, Aimee, also has this insight with people..." "I know somebody like that. Patty didn't say anything, though..." Kristen let the thought die. After another pause, Kristen said, "I'm sorry. I just got a little confused. A waiter ran out when I was pulling out of the lot, and handed me the envelope. He said it was private, so I waited until Jim was asleep to open it. I got very scared for some reason." "How did you locate us here, if I may ask?" "Oh, that was easy," Kristen laughed. "You were sitting front row, center. That means I know the concierge that procured the tickets. From that information, I figured you were staying at that hotel, so I just asked for the name on the business card, and voila!" "Oh," I said. It made perfect sense. "Was that story true? Did your fiancee hit you with a jeep?" "Well, she wasn't my fiancee at the time. In fact, we didn't even know one another..." We talked for about a half hour. I told Kristen the story we tell most people about how we met, only lying when I implied that Debbie and Aimee were her friends before I woke up. Kristen told me that from the looks that Aimee and Debbie had given me all night, Mary might have some competition for my affections. I laughed it off, saying they were very close friends, and they wouldn't come between Mary and me. Kristen then told me how she and Jim met in her final year of high school, fell in love, and opened one of the most influential jazz clubs in the country. One by one, with my permission, my wives "tuned in" to the conversation between Kristen and me. The story about Jim and Kristen was indeed a love story, and it affected all of my wives. Before I hung up, I assured Kristen that I had taken Oogie's wish for our happiness to heart. I knew that their love would be an inspiration to all of us. Kristen gave me the name and contact information of Patty Nadal, her business manager, and told me to feel free to keep in touch with her by sending correspondence to Kristen care of Patty. I had remembered Kristen calling out the name "Patty" the evening before. "Was Patty one of the ladies that were sitting at the table next to us last night?" Kristen answered, "Yes! She's the friend that introduced me to Jim. Cammy was there from Boston, too. It was like a high school reunion. We're visiting them today." There was a pause and then she laughed. "Jim says we're visiting them as soon as I get off the fucking phone!" I laughed, and all of my wives giggled as well. "Give my love to Oogie for me," I said. "I'll do better than that. I'll give him a double dose of MY love. Is that all right with you?" "Of course," I chuckled. "Thanks, Kristen." "Oogie," I heard Kristen yell. "I have a surprise for you... !" The phone line clicked dead and I had a big smile on my face. I could imagine the surprise Kristen had in store for him, and how I'd react to the same information. ------- We all became friends after that. Debbie told me that they were millionaires many times over, but my first impression of them was two people running a very extraordinary jazz club, having the time of their lives playing, and totally enjoying themselves doing so. They had indeed found the secret to life. ------- Chapter 18 "It's a nice day to start again!" From Chicago, we traveled to San Francisco, where (of course) Debbie had a small apartment complex. Unfortunately, Aimee discovered that all the rooms in the complex were leased, so she called around and got us a set of rooms at the Hyatt on North Point Street near the famous Fisherman's Wharf for a week. Following William Voder's advice, we had decided to formalize the marriage between Mary and me, having Debbie and Aimee act as witnesses. Due to the fact that neither Mary nor I were religious, we opted for a civil ceremony. Once we decided to get married, Aimee contacted William Voder, and he arranged to have all the legal requirements for a marriage certificate set up while we were out of town. These included things like birth certificates and other official documents. Thanks to William, we had a marriage license waiting for us (the signatures on the form were perfect samples of our real ones). The cost for us to do this on our own was about a hundred dollars; William's actions just made it easier for us. When we went to pick up the license, we were surprised to find that it was a confidential marriage license. I wasn't familiar with the concept of a "confidential" license, but Aimee told me that William Voder said that such licenses limit their distribution by the county clerk to the actual parties to the marriage. Nobody else can get the details of the information on the marriage certificate, except to ask the county clerk to verify that we were married, if specifically asked. In other words, information like the date of the marriage or the names of the witnesses would not be divulged. Aimee figured that having such a license would make it just a bit more difficult for the people tracking us to get the information. This might be Mr. Voder's way of "sending a wild goose in their path," as he described it. The helpful Mr. Voder also found a justice who would be happy to perform a civil ceremony for us, so we got ready. We wanted to have our ceremony in the middle of the week, mostly to avoid any weekend rush for weddings. When Aimee called the justice, she had been told that a consultation with Mary and I alone with the judge was preferred prior to the ceremony. On Thursday, Mary and I arrived an hour early to talk with the judge. At the office, we saw a woman at a desk, and I introduced myself. "Hello, I am retired Army Captain James Montgomery, and this is my fiancee, retired Army Lieutenant Mary Cadley. Could you please tell the judge that we're here to see him?" The woman looked up at us and smiled. "You've just told the judge, and she is already seeing you." I blushed, and wished that Aimee had told me that the judge was a woman. "I'm sorry, your honor..." The judge laughed. "Don't worry, son," she said. "I get that some times, and I love having a laugh. I don't have a clerk now that I'm retired, and I don't often see people in this office." Not knowing the protocol, I approached the judge and offered my hand. The judge looked at me and then shook my hand. I said, "I was told that you wanted to talk with Mary and me before the ceremony?" "Yes," the judge said. "I was informed that your license is a confidential one. Since I didn't recognize either of your names, I was wondering if there was a particular reason that you were doing so." "Our story is private," I explained. "It's not that we're trying to hide from the public, so I'm willing to explain it to you. I joined the army in the mid-1970's, and after an accident, I spent a dozen years in a coma. Mary served in the army as well, although we never served together. Mary and I briefly met before the accident that put me in the hospital, and we fell in love after I woke up." The judge looked intrigued. I continued. "We've been trying to live a quiet life since then, and have traveled around extensively. Mary, who has had military intelligence training, has noticed people following us, perhaps to get a story for the newspapers. The last thing we need with our lives is the scrutiny of media attention. I think that our lives should be private, and we have a couple of friends that will be letting us use their vacation property in Hawaii for the next month or so in order to get out of the sight of the people that may want to intrude upon our privacy and possibly hope that they will forget about us." The judge sniffed, "I think you are a bit naive if you think that a mere month or two will remove those bloodhounds from your hair." "Perhaps, but we just want to get married and live our lives together. We don't ask for much, just our privacy. I am not bitter that I have lost twelve years of my life, but I am anxious to make up for lost time, and I wish to do this with Mary. I have a lot to learn about this decade--and it's almost over! In Hawaii, life is peaceful and serene. We can simply focus on each other and take things at our own pace." The judge looked at Mary. "An old friend contacted me about you. He told me, and your fiancee has just confirmed, that you worked in military intelligence?" Mary nodded. "I was trained as an agent, although I left the service before I was actually given an assignment." "Why did you leave the service?" "I was driving the jeep that collided with Jim," Mary said. "I was responsible for hospitalizing him--I thought that I had killed him. I couldn't bear the thought that my first kill would have been one of our own soldiers." The judge looked from Mary, back to me, and then back to Mary. "Where were you stationed?" "Fort Huachuca." "In Arizona?" Mary nodded. "Are you familiar with that base?" "I'm pretty familiar with it." It occurred to me that this judge had been recommended by William Voder. "Huachuca specializes in the intelligence branch of the army," I explained. "As I said, I'm familiar with it," the judge said, smiling. Turning to me, she asked, "Where were you stationed?" "I attended O.C.S. at Fort Benning, and then was temporarily transferred for inter-unit operation at the Marine basic camp in San Diego before being scheduled to leave for Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The accident happened after a party in San Diego, and I have not been officially notified about what happened to my command during the time I was unconscious, but I learned that it had been disbanded due to budget cuts after my accident." Turning to Mary, the judge asked, "If you were stationed in Arizona, how did you manage to get into an accident in San Diego?" "I was assigned there for part of a training exercise," Mary explained. The judge looked at Mary, expecting some more information. Mary didn't offer any. After a minute or so, the judge nodded. "I needed to hear your stories myself," she said. "I was given more or less the same information you just gave me. Your story is... well, unusual. I didn't want to be a party to anything illegal. That being said, I have no reason to doubt the two of you." "Thank you, your honor," I said, stiffly. "Please, Mr. Montgomery," the judge said. "It's just the three of us here right now. When will your witnesses be arriving?" I looked at my watch. Debbie and Aimee were due in about forty-five minutes. "At two o'clock," I answered. The judge nodded. She got up from behind her desk and said, "Well, if you don't mind, we have some time to kill. There's a perfectly nice saloon a couple of doors down from my office, and it's air conditioner works a bit better than the one in this office. I would be honored if the two of you would join me for a tiny drink before the rest of your party arrives." I looked at Mary and decided to let her answer. "We'd be honored ourselves," she said. The judge led the two of us out of the office and into a bar three doors down. Inside, she led us to a booth near the back. When the waiter arrived, she ordered a glass of Merlot, and Mary and I ordered the same. "So, how's William?" the judge asked. "William?" I asked. "You know very well who I mean," the judge smiled. "William Voder set you up with me. I take it you know who he is, and have probably seen him recently." I didn't confirm nor deny the judge's assertion. "Since you were nice enough to give me your stories, let me tell you mine," the judge said, ignoring my silence about William. "The army put me through legal school, which was unusual for them to do, especially with a woman during the early fifties. In return, I worked with the Judge Advocate General corps during the Korean conflict, and eventually into the Viet Nam conflict. Later on, I was put on special assignment, where I met William. I left the service in 1972, and quickly got a job as an assistant district attorney in San Francisco County, and then served on the bench in 1977. I've served almost ten years on the bench, and there were rumors that President Reagan was considering me for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, a post that I wasn't really interested in taking. Instead, I retired just last year, and I now make quilts and doll clothing for various craft fairs, which allows me to travel. Performing civil wedding ceremonies and the like also affords me some spending money for travel." The judge sipped her wine and added, "William asked me to perform your ceremony. He tells me that the daughter of his late partner will be one of the witnesses." I decided denying knowledge of William Voder any further was impractical. "You are referring to Debbie Malen," I said. "She's a close friend. Her associate, Aimee Porter will be the other witness." "William more than hinted that there may be more to your relationship than meets the eye," the judge said. "I'll have you know that different relationships are not that unusual here in San Francisco. Although I was a judge, and perhaps I am still considered one even though I'm retired, I do not personally judge people on their lifestyle choices. I will advise you that not all people are as broad minded as the people in this city." I shrugged. "I'm aware of that, and I thank you for your understanding." Something tugged at my consciousness, and I realized that Debbie and Aimee were in the general vicinity. I sent a quick message to Aimee, directing her to the bar where we were. I felt Aimee and Debbie approach us, and the judge seemed surprised when they came to the table. "Judge McHenry, I would like to introduce our two friends. The tall lady is Deborah Malen, and this other lovely lass is Aimee Porter." "What a serendipitous occasion!" the judge said. "I'm glad you stumbled upon us." She shook the hands. "Ms. Malen, I would like to offer my condolences on the loss of your father. I only met him a few times, a long time ago, but he was a very nice man." Debbie radiated a tiny bit of melancholy, as she normally does when reminded about her father, but she forced a smile. "I miss him terribly myself. He was on his way to my graduation when his plane crashed." The judge decided to change the subject. She turned to Aimee and said, "Ms. Porter, I am very happy to meet you." "Thank you, your honor," Aimee replied. The judge continued. "I am told that you two will be the witnesses for Jim and Mary's solemn ceremony." Nods confirmed the judge's assumption. "Would you like for me to perform the ceremony in my office, or do you have a special place that you'd prefer?" "I have a small banquet room reserved at the Hyatt," I said. "It will just be the four of us at the ceremony, but we'd be honored if you stayed after the ceremony, since we will have a couple of friends arriving afterward. We'd be especially happy to have you celebrate with us, seeing how you are a friend of William's." I added that last part for the benefit of Debbie and Aimee. My three co-wives nodded at my offer, which Judge McHenry seemed to notice with a surprised expression. "I wouldn't want to intrude," she said. "Please at least stay and have dinner with us," Mary offered. "The hotel is supposed to have an excellent chef." The judge looked at all four of us and said, "Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Montgomery, and Ms. Cadley. I will take you up on your offer." We made some small talk, and a little later, the judge excused herself to get some things from her office. We waited outside the office as Aimee explained to the limo driver that we'd have a party of five to deliver to the Hyatt. ------- "My friends, we are gathered here to witness and to celebrate the coming together of two separate lives. We have come to join this man, James Montgomery, and this woman, Mary Cadley, in marriage, and to be with them in the making of this important commitment. The essence of this commitment is the taking of another person in his or her entirety, as lover, companion, and friend. It is therefore a decision which is not to be entered into lightly, but rather undertaken with the greatest consideration and respect for both the other person and oneself. Having made this decision, James and Mary may feel justly proud." Looking at the two of us, the judge continued. "James and Mary come now to be united in marriage." The judge indicated for us to approach her. We did. "James repeat after me: I, James Montgomery, take you Mary, to be my lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forth, to love, honor, and cherish, to comfort and to respect, in sorrow or in joy, in hardship or in plenty, so long as we both shall live." I repeated the vow, and Judge McHenry had Mary repeat an identical vow. "James and Mary wish to exchange rings as symbols of their vows." Aimee, our ring bearer, held out the ring I had picked out for Mary. "James, as you place the ring on Mary's hand, repeat after me: This is my beloved and this is my friend. With this ring I marry you and join my life with yours." I repeated as I was asked, and placed the ring on Mary's hand. Mary's beamed in adoration as I did so. "Mary, as you place the ring on Jim's hand, repeat after me: This is my beloved and this is my friend. With this ring I marry you and join my life with yours." Mary took my ring from Aimee, and repeated the vow as she placed the ring on my left hand. The judge smiled. "Before their friends, Jim and Mary have pledged themselves to each other and have symbolized this by giving and receiving rings. By the authority vested in me by the State of California, I pronounce you husband and wife." I didn't need to wait for permission to kiss my bride. After we kissed, Debbie and Aimee kissed each of us separately. I attempted to shake Judge McHenry's hand, but she held her hand up. "Miss Porter," she said, looking at Aimee. "I was told that you might have some additional rings." Aimee nodded, unsurprised. There were four other rings that were platinum instead of gold, and were fitted to our right hands. I hadn't been aware that the judge had known of them, and the other two women expressed surprise. "Jim, I will ask you and your friends to repeat the ring vows with these rings. Since polygamy is not legal in this state or this country, I will not pronounce you married, except Jim to Mary. I will still allow you to make your solemn vows in my presence." I felt a wave of love and happiness emanate from Debbie, and I simply nodded at the judge. "Mary, will you do us a favor and hold the four rings for now?" Mary took the rings from Aimee. "Jim, as you place the ring on Debbie's hand, repeat after me: These are my beloved and these are my friends. With this ring I join my life with Debbie, Mary, and Aimee." I noticed the change in her wording from the marriage ceremony. I did so, and placed Debbie's ring on her right hand. The judge had Debbie repeat the vow, and Debbie placed my ring on my right hand. Judge McHenry asked Mary to hand me the remaining two rings, and the judge repeated the procedure with Mary and Aimee exchanging rings and vows. "Jim, Mary, Debbie, and Aimee, I wish to be the first to congratulate you on the love and devotion that you share with one another. As I have told Jim and Mary, I will not judge you on your choice in relationships, but I caution you all to be fair, loving, and understanding with each other. Every relationship requires a lot of work from every member of it, and I imagine that your unique relationship will require even more work. I pray that you have the wisdom, love, and spirituality to overcome the problems you may find ahead." It was now official. Mary was my wife, and the four of us had vowed to join our lives together, and these three wonderful lives were now inexorably intertwined with mine. After the ceremony, Aimee walked out of the banquet room, and arranged for our meals. When she came back, she was accompanied by Mely and June, Debbie's employees. Mely and June kissed Mary and me in congratulations, and then we introduced them to Judge McHenry while Aimee handed out menus to everybody. For entertainment, Aimee had managed to get CDs of the Original House Band from the Isle of the Goddess we visited in Chicago, and we listened to some great jazz and rock as we ate our meals. The first song, however, was from a special tape that had been sent from Chicago. As a wedding present, Aimee and Debbie had asked the owners of the Goddess clubs for a special recording that we could use as our first dance together. There was some cheesy announcement about this song being our first dance. It was as if Oogie Woogie and his wife were in the room with us. We heard our names introduced as husband and wife for the first time, and then there was a segue as the band started playing. Mary and I danced our first dance, "Happy Together," and both our eyes had tears in them. As I had said before, I had always loved that song, but ever since it had been dedicated to Mary and me, I have always experienced an emotional response whenever I hear it to this very day. Jim, also known as "Oogie Woogie," was a master showman, as we had evidenced in Chicago. Despite the fact that he wasn't there in person, it was a memorable occasion for us, and to top it off, we have that recording to listen to at any time we ever may want to do so in the future. ------- We spent a week in San Francisco, touring the sights with Mely and June accompanying us. Afterward, we left the airport in Debbie's private jet to depart to Hawaii. Aimee's "little grass shack" was warm and inviting, and before we arrived, Aimee had arranged to have it swept to remove any bugs, and ensured that the caretaker made sure everything was fully stocked. During our wedding party, Judge McHenry made an excellent suggestion for my wives to stop referring to themselves as such, but instead to call each other "sister," which is a term that they actually sometimes had already used. I would refer to Mary as my wife freely because it was legally so. As I said before, I didn't love any of the three any more than the others, so I started thinking of them as very close friends when describing them to outsiders. Our plan was to spend a couple of months in Makena. It was as good a place as any to just relax and live, and it gave some structure into our lives. Mary, the oldest of the three "sisters," had stopped taking birth control as soon as we decided we would actually get married. It was supposed to take some time before she was ready to conceive, and Aimee arranged for her to see an Ob./Gyn. near the shack to ensure her equipment was in perfect working order and to give her advice on conception and other issues that she needed to know. When coming back from her doctor's appointment, Mary discovered she had a person following her. She told us when she arrived back at the shack, and the four of us considered possible options for dealing with the situation. The general consensus among the four of us was that we thought it would be a good idea to just lay low for the time being. I accompanied Mary to the "little beach," wearing a rather brief bathing suit. Mary saw the person that had been following her--she was resting on a blanket on the beach--and Mary mentally pointed that person out to me. The person that Mary singled out was female and in her mid twenties. She was unusual in that she was one of the few bathers that were not topless on the nude beach, and she appeared just a little more apprehensive than most of the other people that were enjoying the sun. We pretended not to notice her. While moving about, setting up our blanket, I did get a good glimpse of her--she was short with long dark hair. She reminded me very much of Aimee--she had the same physical features which marked her as Polynesian and she was about as short--about five feet, one inch in size. After the blanket was set up, Mary removed her top, giving me the opportunity to rub suntan lotion on her. I started first on her back, and used the lotion to give Mary a very relaxing back massage, an activity that Mary quite enjoys. I intentionally didn't look toward the person who was supposedly watching us, and that took quite a lot of concentration on my part. Try not watching somebody that you think might be watching you some time! I do not consider a public beach an appropriate venue for sexual relations, so I was on my best behavior. I did rub lotion on Mary's breasts, but I did so quickly and while she was still on her stomach. Eventually, my massage put Mary to sleep. I laid next to her and luxuriated in the feeling of the sun baking on my back, wishing that Mary had reciprocated by rubbing some lotion on me. I must have fallen asleep, because I was awakened when I felt Aimee rubbing lotion on my back. me. "I will love you forever, Master," I felt Aimee think toward me when she realized I woke up. "I didn't want you to burn." "Thank you, Precious," I said aloud, but quietly. "I love you." In her mind, I told Aimee that our follower was about thirty yards away in the direction of our feet. "Have you probed her mind, yet?" "Not yet. We've decided to wait a few days, remember?" "That is a good idea." Aimee moved closer to me and kissed me on the cheek. Debbie joined us soon after and dragged me into the ocean. Once I was in the water, Debbie kissed me full on the lips, unlike Aimee's more conservative kiss a few moments earlier. "I love you, brother in law!" "Brother in law?" "The husband of my sister." I laughed and kissed Debbie back. The water was warm and enjoyable. Soon, we were joined by Mary and Aimee. "Jim gives the best back rubs," Mary said. There weren't too many people in the water, so I brought Debbie up to speed on the person that Mary had identified. As I did so, I felt Debbie's hand probe inside my Speedos, encircling my cock. Debbie had a wicked grin on her face. That was the extent of the sexual activity; as I said, I'm not one for public sex. We did splash around and we swam. Aimee and Mary also joined us and we all had some fun in the warm water. I saw somebody swimming toward us and grinned when I realized it was June, Debbie's driver, who was a marvelous swimmer. When June arrived, I gave her a kiss on her cheek, as did the other girls. We discussed the wonderful weather, and the possibility of a thunderstorm the next day. When I returned to our blanket, I noticed that the person that Mary had identified as our tracker had left. I wasn't sure if this was normal behavior--if somebody was trying to watch us, wouldn't that person stay around as long as we were on the beach? I looked back to where Mary was, but she just shrugged at me. I took my towel and started heading back toward the shack. As I did so, I noticed that the other girls, as well as June, were just getting out. I took the minute or so that I was alone to view June's smallish breasts. Her nipples were erect from the coolness of the water evaporating on her bare skin, and they looked quite enticing. They weren't as magnificent as Debbie's, or as nicely proportioned as Mary's, but they were very nice just the way they were. As the four girls got closer to the blanket, I focused my attention on Mary. "Hello, sweetheart," I said, giving her a kiss. "Have a good swim?" "Of course," Mary said, smiling. June excused herself to run a few laps up and down the beach; I had noticed that June loved exercising outdoors. Mary saw my eyes follow June's body as she left and gave me a smile. "Are you heading back to the shack?" "I think so," I said, returning my attention to the other three girls. "I might want to get a head start on supper." "Steaks again?" Debbie asked, in mock protest. "What would you have me make?" I asked. Aimee smiled. "I prepared some lamb chops with some dry rub earlier. They would be perfect for the grill!" "Lamb chops," I said, rubbing my tummy. "Sounds wonderful!" The four of us headed back to the shack. When I got there, I checked on the hot tub, but we had only started it up earlier that day, and the temperature of the hot tub hadn't reached its normal operating point yet. I found Aimee's baby lamb chops in the refrigerator where she had them marinating in a dry rub. I also saw a pitcher of Pina Coladas that either Debbie or Aimee had prepared earlier, along with a pitcher of some exotic fruit juice that Aimee usually drank. I poured myself a sixteen ounce glass of Pina Colada and headed out for the porch. I was never a person that required or even wanted other people to wait on me hand and foot (unless a person really insisted on doing so), so I decided to get a head start on supper and preheated the grill. As I waited for the grill, I took another sip of my drink. Normally, I don't like drinks with coconut in them, but the Pina Colada tasted excellent. I looked back into the kitchen. Mary had just arrived, and was starting to prepare a salad. Debbie seemed to be slicing potatoes or onions as an accompaniment to our meal, and Aimee was preparing some snow pea pods, ready to place them into a pot of water for tenderizing. I smiled; the four of us made a great team. Everybody was contributing to the meal. After only about five minutes or so, I saw from the external thermometer that the grill had reached its desired temperature. I opened the grill and put on the chops, lowering the burners to medium-high now that it was fully preheated. Debbie came outside, apparently to help me exercise. She did so by playing a game of tag with our tongues as she deeply kissed me. It was a fun game for me to lose. A few minutes later, as Debbie was heading back inside, I noticed Mary pointing behind me where the grill was emitting a rather dark cloud of smoke, and I hurriedly opened the cover. The fat from the chops had created a rather intense flame, and with the barbecue tongs, I rearranged the chops away from the biggest flame. Aimee came outside with a spray bottle, and doused the conflagration for me. "Thanks, Precious," I said, giving Aimee a quick kiss on her cheek for her efforts. Aimee gave me one of her million dollar smiles and put the spray bottle next to the grill. I watched her walk away, her fanny wiggling seductively as she went back into the kitchen. I picked up the spray bottle and spritzed a bit on my hand and tasted it. It wasn't just water, as I had originally thought. In it was either wine or some sort of vinegar. Looking through the translucent bottle, I could see bits of herbs floating in it as well. I laughed, as I realized that the spray was helping to season our chops as well. I took another big sip of my Pina Colada. Isn't it amazing when everybody clicks together like this? When the chops were done the way I like them, I turned off the grill. At the same moment, Aimee came out with a cast aluminum platter that she had preheated in the oven, placing it on a table near the grill. The chops hissed as they hit the very hot platter. I was able to easily pick up the chops from the wooden base that the platter fit into, keeping my hands away from the very hot surface. Back in the kitchen, I showed everybody the chops, which were still sizzling on the platter, getting favorable responses from my hungry companions. On the stove, I could see that Debbie had hash brown potatoes cooking. Aimee had made a gravy from some extra pieces of meat that she had trimmed from the meat she earlier rendered and used as a base for a gravy using red wine, mushrooms, thyme, and other herbs, all of which she eventually strained out to make a luscious brown gravy. Mary made a simple salad that consisted of iceberg lettuce hearts, with tiny cherry tomatoes and an orange colored salad dressing. Debbie called June and Mely to come over to the main house for dinner. The meal was excellent. I was feeling a warm buzz as I realized that the four of us had all chipped in and worked together and the resulting meal was probably better than if just one of us had done all the cooking. I felt like we had all participated together. It was like our marriage... everybody contributing to make something better than any one of us could do. It was at that moment that I also realized that Aimee had already made a second batch of Pina Coladas, and that I had been refilling my glass every time I had come back into the kitchen, no matter how much I had previously drank from the glass beforehand. It occurred to me that my feelings of happiness might have been a bit influenced from the rum that was in those drinks. Knowing that the buzzing that I was feeling wasn't just the fact that my three women truly loved me, I decided that I had enough liquor for the evening. I excused myself to return to the kitchen. In the refrigerator, I discovered that Aimee's other pitcher of juice was papaya, and that was my drink for the rest of the night. After dinner, Mely, June, and I helped clean the dishes. We watched a movie on television, and then, as it was getting dark, I went upstairs alone to the Orchid bedroom, the name of the master bedroom. Out on the porch ("Lanai," as Aimee called it) from this room, there were a few lounge chairs. I got on a lounge, and stared up into the starry night, feeling a mildly cool breeze against my skin. It was one of the few times that I stared at the stars since I had been hit by Mary's jeep. Unfortunately, it was either a new moon, or the moon had already set, but there were thousands of stars in the sky and I fell asleep studying the sky. I awoke a few hours later, finding all three of my women out on the lanai with me, fast asleep as well. I smiled, wondering if they had been checking out the heavens the way that I had done. I slowly crept out of my lounge, and Aimee, who was a light sleeper, woke up. "Good morning, Master," she whispered. "Good morning, Precious," I answered, equally quiet. I didn't want to disturb Debbie or Mary. "I cannot allow you to go inside alone," Aimee said. "Let me join you." "Certainly, Aimee," I whispered back. Aimee came into the room with me, but she quickly rushed out, surprising me. I heard her run into the attached bathroom and relieve herself, which made me giggle. My beautiful Polynesian angel (that's probably another mixed metaphor there) came back a few moments later, rolled into the bed and melted into my arms. "You must never sleep alone, Master," Aimee said, sub-vocally. "Why not?" I asked. "We help keep the bad things away from you," Aimee said. I was still quite exhausted, and didn't answer Aimee, or even ask her what she meant by that. For some reason, however, that statement stuck with me. We fell asleep in each other's arms. I cannot describe anything more perfect than having a woman that loves you completely in your arms as you fall asleep. I had lovely dreams of the stars about Makena, as well as a moonlit sky with stars in San Diego. Was there any significance to my dreams? I didn't know, and I didn't care at the time. After all, I was only dreaming, wasn't I? ------- When I awoke, Aimee and I were still hugging one another. I had barely remembered going to bed, and smiled. Aimee must have noticed my movement and awakened. Aimee looked up at me, smiled, and said, "It's a wonderful morning, Master!" I rolled over so that Aimee was on top of me. We shifted our positions a bit until my cock was nestled alongside the slit of her love nest. I moved my hips up and down, knowing how much Aimee liked this activity of not-quite-fucking. Aimee, in return, simply purred on top of me. "It looks like at least Jim is awake," I heard Mary say. I turned toward the location of the voice, and saw both Mary and Debbie looking at the two of us. "Good morning," I said, not stopping my up and down motions against Aimee. Mary bent down and kissed me, and then turned and kissed Aimee. Aimee, in return, pushed up off of me. "I need to cook breakfast," she said. "Nonsense," I answered, holding Aimee's body against mine. "I'll have cereal." "You have a baby to make," Aimee said, only in my head. She pushed against my embrace, and then rolled off me completely. I looked at Aimee, and she had a serious look in her eyes. I turned to look at Mary, and saw a longing in her eyes as she viewed my erection. Realizing that Aimee was right (is she ever wrong?), I smiled at Mary, and she bent down and kissed me once more. I pulled her on top of me, and we rolled until I was on top of her. The friction that I had experienced just moments before against Aimee's pubic hair had gotten me hard. Now, with Mary underneath and Aimee's reminder that I had a duty to perform, I found myself the surprised victim of performance anxiety. My cock was getting softer! I looked over to where I last saw Debbie and Aimee, and the two girls were leaving the room. A dead prick had never happened to me before! At that moment, I felt Aimee's mind enter mine. She just sent me a single thought and then left. She said, "Mary needs you to do your duty to her." I pulled Mary's face up toward mine and kissed her full on the lips, and put all my concentration into how much I loved this wonderful woman. Mary kissed me back, and I finally found my organ responding. It's difficult for me to describe how much I really love kissing. It's about the most intimate experience that I can share with a woman--somehow, it's even more intimate than sharing our minds together. I reached between her legs with my hand and started to rub her in the area where I knew that she was the most sensitive, and I felt her wetness in response. After about fifteen minutes of fondling Mary, I changed position so that I could penetrate her. The two of us were still kissing, and I continued kissing her while pumping in and out of her for a while. I heard Mary moan beneath me, and I thrust harder, back and forth. When her moans increased, I felt something give within me, and my own orgasm started. As I pumped my seed into her fertile womb, I felt Mary achieve a new high. Her legs clamped together, and her arms held my body close to hers in what almost seemed to be a death grip. Due to Mary's tenseness, my movements became almost slow motion. I continued to move slowly in and out, my semen still injecting into Mary, until I had no more to give. I felt drained afterward, and quickly fell asleep on top of Mary. I don't think Mary seemed to mind. Debbie and Aimee didn't sleep with me for the next week, always suggesting that Mary be the one to share my bed. I have no way to be exactly sure, but I'm willing to bet anything that this first time was the one in which she managed to conceive. I don't think it was my best performance ever, but I think I really think this particular session was the one for Mary. It was only after Mary's condition was confirmed by her doctor that either Aimee or Debbie would allow me to once more shoot my seed anywhere except within Mary's womb. The two were always extremely considerate of Mary's need. There were times that I wished that they were as considerate of my own needs... but I knew that was just self-centered thinking. ------- Having finally seen the woman that was following us, it was pretty easy for me to notice her every so often. I'd pass her on the street, or I'd see her on the beach now and then. I never gave her any sort of recognition, and I only made the briefest of probes into her mind, which told me that her name was Patricia and that she thought that she had been stealthy enough to evade our notice. This woman fit in. After Aimee had the opportunity to look at her, she confirmed to me that Patricia appeared to be a full-blooded Hawaiian, unlike Aimee, who had a touch of French Polynesian in her heritage--the differences were too subtle for me to understand. Patricia naturally looked like she belonged in the tropics where we were staying. I thought the investigator's name to be an odd coincidence, since Aimee had used that name in Washington a few weeks ago as an alias. Aimee assured me that it was truly a coincidence; unless the girl had been hired by William Voder, we were pretty sure that our time in Washington had gone unnoticed by the people following us. If Patricia thought that she would ever evade my notice, then she was completely wrong. She was extremely gorgeous to my eyes. She had long, dark brown hair that, like Aimee's, went down to the middle of her back. However, unlike Aimee's, Patricia's hair was fuller and wavy on the top. Like Aimee, Patricia had warm brown eyes that anybody could easily get lost in. Her breasts were much larger and rounder than Aimee's, but she couldn't have weighed more than a hundred pounds total. Her lips were thick and red, and seemed to be very sensuous. On the other hand, those lips looked like they were forever sealed into a pout--one of the few things about her about which I disapproved. If you notice that I was comparing Patricia to Aimee, it's mostly because the two women were very similar, and the similarity wasn't just racial. Patricia, however, had that pout that was so unlike Aimee's warm smile that she normally wore. In addition, Patricia also lacked that "something extra" that I can't describe that made Aimee so very dear to me. I noticed that Patricia always had a thin silver bracelet that she wore high on her arm, about halfway to her elbow. She liked wearing heels, which made her appear to be taller than Aimee when I saw her when she wasn't on the beach. The heels also gave firm definition to Patricia's legs, a feature that I quite liked. This woman could easily be a model for any of the top designers and could probably earn millions of dollars doing so. I wondered why she chose her particular line of work. Mary, Debbie, and even Aimee all seemed taken by the exotic beauty of Patricia, and I spent a few idle thoughts wondering what it would be like to cuddle up to her at night. Now, don't get me wrong. I was definitely not hurting for female companionship. Still, I couldn't help but think of Patricia's beautiful countenance presented in front of me on her knees in supplication, as Aimee loved doing. It was just an idle fantasy, though. I had been serious when I told William Voder that I had no intention of adding to my "harem." People like Patricia or like June, with her wholesome good looks, and Patricia, with her exotic beauty, would be very safe from the likes of me. After a few days, I took the opportunity to hold a "family conference" in and around the hot tub where we hoped the noise from the jets of water would impede any listening devices that may have evaded detection. The four of us undressed and three of us entered the pool. Mary just sat at the edge of the tub with just her feet dangling in the water; she had been advised against using the whirlpool or sauna if she was pregnant, and we didn't want to unnecessarily expose her to any risk. I made a suggestion to Aimee that she try to make contact with this Patricia and see what happens. During some pillow talk with Mary, she had suggested that if Aimee did so, Patricia would either try to avoid Aimee, worried that her real intentions would be discovered, or that she would try to use Aimee to get closer to the rest of us. What Patricia did, suggested Mary, would reveal the nature of the surveillance that she was performing. All four of seemed to agree with this reasoning at this family conference, but at the last minute, Mary changed her mind, and cautioned against this action, saying that we had too much to lose in trying to make contact. We were surprised by Mary's turnaround, but we all decided to accept Mary's analysis for the time being. After about fifteen minutes in the hot tub, I got out and pulled Mary up by her hand, and we walked together into the swimming pool. Together, Mary and I swam a few laps before we found ourselves joined by Debbie and Aimee. We gathered at the deep end of the pool and pulled ourselves into a gigantic four-way hug and cuddle. Mary's trip to the Ob./Gyn. would be in a couple of days. All four of us were hoping that Mary had caught, but if she hadn't, she would have exclusive use of my semen, day and night, for the next four weeks until her next fertile period. I was pretty confidant that Mary was indeed pregnant, a feeling that I had shared with Aimee. I told Mary that I would accompany her to the doctor's office for luck. ------- On Friday morning, the doctor gave Mary and I the good news. The blood test was positive; Mary was indeed pregnant. The doctor made sure that the two of us were prepared for her condition. Mary, who had never given birth before, was in her late thirties. Although there were some risks due to Mary's age, the doctor pointed out that because Mary was in perfect health and kept herself in excellent shape, her risk of complications were not as high as it could be for other women her age. Even so, Mary was told that she should still avoid high-risk behaviors like tobacco and alcohol. This was easy; none of our family smoked, and Mary never drank much. We thanked the doctor, and when we exited into the waiting room, Mary's condition was obvious even to the most obtuse person in the room merely by her positive glow. When we got home, we gave the good news to Debbie and Aimee, who both congratulated their "sister." I suggested that celebrate by taking a trip north. We had lunch in Kihei, a city that had some decent restaurants, and we all ate some great seafood. Mary was positively bubbling over in her excitement, and the other two girls were now making all sorts of plans, including adding a nursery room to the shack and offering to help Mary pick out maternity clothes (which I thought was grossly premature, since Mary wasn't showing at all!). Mary quietly informed us that we were being followed, and this time, Patricia seemed to have an escort with her. We made it clear to anyone and everyone who listened that we were celebrating Mary's pregnancy, and while Debbie and Aimee drank margaritas, Mary and I were drinking only fruit punches. We got many congratulations from the staff at the restaurant, as well as tourists that had been eating at the restaurant. Aimee talked with our server, asking where we could find some excellent night life, and the server without hesitation told us that the only real place nearby that had night clubs and the like was Lahaina, which was about fifteen miles further north. We decided that would be our destination for the night, and Aimee excused herself to make some phone calls to arrange for accommodations and entertainment for the evening. Aimee came back to the table. "I managed to get a great deal on a vacation condo in Lahaina," she announced. "How long do we have it?" I asked. "A week, but we could probably extend it if we wanted to do so." I looked at the three girls, who were looking at me. I knew how much the shack meant to Aimee, so I said, "Let's just spend a couple of nights in Lahaina. I've never been there and it might be nice, but it would be nice to get back to the shack. After all, it's our home." I could see from the smiles on everybody's faces that I had made an excellent decision. I moved over and kissed Mary full on the lips, and while I did so, I quickly stole a piece of her Mahi-Mahi. "Hey!" Mary yelled in mock protest. "That's mine!" "You can have some of my steak," I offered. "Mary is eating for two, you know," Debbie pointed out. Mary just made a face; she didn't mind eating steak, but her real passion in eating was seafood, followed closely by chocolate--she was as much addicted to chocolate as Aimee was. "Do you have any ideas for a name, Mary?" Debbie asked. When Mary had first told me that she wanted a baby, I had told her that I had no problems if she or any of the girls did so. I would leave naming to the person that was actually carrying the baby, being that she would be doing most of the hard work. Mary shrugged. "I was thinking of a name a little less plain than either Jim or Mary." "Like what?" Debbie pressed. "I don't know," Mary admitted. "I have a few months to decide. Do you have any suggestions?" Debbie shrugged. "If it were mine and it was a boy, I'd name him James, after my father and my brother in law. If it's a girl, I'd name her Mary, after my oldest sister." Mary nodded. "I thought you'd want the name James. What do you think of Benjamin? When I was growing up, Benjamin Franklin was a hero of mine." "That's a nice name, Mary," Aimee said, smiling. The rest of us agreed. "I haven't decided on a name for a girl, though," Mary said. I dutifully kept out of this particular conversation. I kept on thinking of the name "Mata Hari." The waiter came out of the kitchen with a couple of other staff members. He was carrying a piece of chocolate cake with a list candle on it. He and the staff sang an impromptu version of "Happy Future Birthday To You" to Mary and me. "Did you arrange this?" Mary asked me. I shook my head and looked at the other two girls. Neither one admitted doing so. The server answered Mary. "I overheard you talking about your little one. This is from the manager." We thanked the server and the manager, who was standing near the kitchen watching the scene with a smile on his face. "Chocolate," Mary said, smacking her lips. "My favorite!" ------- It took twenty minutes to reach Lahaina, and another ten before Aimee found the vacation condo. We pulled into the rental office and Aimee went in to take care of the paperwork. Another ten minutes later, Aimee came back with four sets of keys in her hand. The beach was only a three minute walk away, and there was a lovely footpath that we could use for jogging in the morning. We unpacked our bags, and put on bathing suits. "It will be strange to see you in a bikini top," I teased Mary. Mary shrugged. "I can't wait for those to fill up a bit," I continued needling my pregnant wife, caressing one of her breasts. "They'll probably start to sag," Mary said, shrugging. Debbie's voice came from the doorway. "Not if you do the proper exercises." "Really?" Mary said. "Really," Debbie insisted. "I used to have a problem with these," she said, hefting her breasts under her hands. "I had an aerobics instructor show me some good things to help firm up the muscles there. I'll be happy to teach you." "I'll be happy to massage you every day," I offered. Mary laughed at my offer. "You may regret making that offer, Jim!" I shook my head. "It would be my honor, dear wife." I gave Mary a brief kiss on the cheek, and moved out of the room on the way to the bathroom. Passing Debbie, I kissed her briefly as well. The one limitation to this "luxury condo" was that it only had a single bathroom, and Aimee was using it. This would just never do for a guy living with three women. As nice as the condo seemed, I realized that getting back home to Makena would be a great idea. That night, Aimee had made reservations for a luau on a place that specialized in them on Front Street. When we arrived, we were greeted with beautiful leis, and led to a seating area in front of the stage on cushions on the grass. The person seating us announced that they now had a liquor license, but we all decided to drink non-alcoholic drinks, mostly in deference to Mary, who had been advised to avoid alcohol during her pregnancy. The evening was very educational, and the food was exceptional. I had never known that hula dancing is an ancient Polynesian way of telling stories. The presentation was wonderful with native men and beautiful dancers, and the various movements they did were explained as they were demonstrated. When they asked for volunteers from the audience, both Debbie and Aimee went up. Aimee looked like she had done the hula before, and her motions were very fluid and authentic. Debbie, with her killer body, maybe wasn't as authentic, but the way she moved her body evoked raw unadulterated sensuousness that was noticed by every breathing person at the feast. Only the dead pig on a platter didn't react to Debbie's movements. All in all, it was a most enjoyable evening. Back at the vacation condo, the four of us retired together in our king-sized bed, exhausted and sated. We spent the entire weekend in Lahaina before returning to the shack in Makena. ------- Chapter 19 "Delta Dawn, what's that flower you have on?" Back at the shack, life settled into a comfortable routine. The girls and I took turns being the "cook of the day," and I got to sample some pretty nice cooking. Mary's mother was Italian, and she made good pasta dishes. Debbie and I were both "meat and potatoes" kind of people, and Aimee made the most amazing dishes with vegetables and fruits that I would never have considered potential meal material. We occasionally noticed Patricia in town, the person Mary had identified as being the one that was keeping tabs on us, but we saw her less and less frequently as time went on. Although Aimee was worried about the motives of that person, the rest of us decided that it wasn't worth the risk of trying to contact her. Aimee reluctantly agreed with the family consensus. We made occasional trips to some of the islands that comprise the state of Hawaii, and we shopped to purchase some maternity wear for Mary, who started to show after about twelve weeks. Mary had completely avoided alcohol, even though the doctor had said that a glass of wine every week or two probably wouldn't hurt. Mary's decision was one of practicality. She had never really been a big drinker, and she wanted nothing to possibly endanger the life of the "little critter" that was growing within her, using Mary's term for her unborn baby. Charles Penet, Debbie's Uncle Chuck, gave us the name of a firm on the big island that had some first rate talent that were accountants with law degrees. We put this firm on retainer to handle the hassles of day to day life, such as working out how our various savings, "incomes," tax returns, and other things that would be difficult for us to handle on our own. At first, Aimee was the primary family contact with this firm, but as time went on, we all felt comfortable with the firm and they ended up helping out a lot in the mundane details of life. Since all of the partners within the firm had law degrees and were therefore subject to lawyer-client confidentiality agreements, Aimee readily revealed the nature of our relationship to them. The response? The person she told laughed, explaining that the "little beach" near our house that we frequented so often was once the site of a hippie commune! After a year or so, with all the business that our family was doing with the firm, a branch office in Kanahena was opened in order to make it easier for us to visit with them when needed. At the suggestion of the law firm, we added a few more guest houses around the property, and put older clothing of ours in them. The idea was that we should be able claim that some of the unmarried people on the property were actually living in the guest houses. The firm also ensured that our property was properly zoned for multi-family living, so the fact that so many unmarried people were at the same place would not arouse undue suspicions, especially in the light of Mary's pregnancy. The last thing we needed was family services coming by and declaring our lifestyle an endangerment to the children. We hired a carpenter to oversee the construction of the guest houses as well as add new extensions to the shack, which allowed us to add Debbie's desired workout room. For the first day or so, the men from the carpenter's firm seemed to love looking at the three women at the house, but to give them credit, they were professionals and did such a good job, we ended up using the same company repeatedly whenever we needed some work done with the house. As I said before, the workout room was Debbie's idea, and she purchased a Universal Gym and exercise mats for the room. Mary taught her sisters the basics of self defense. Aimee surprised Mary, handling herself very well and warded off Mary's attacks almost effortlessly. Aimee, however, refused to attack Mary, saying that the best way to win a fight was to avoid one. As a result, Aimee didn't spar much at all, at least with Mary, since Aimee was very anti-aggressive. Occasionally I did see Aimee work out with Debbie. Debbie also had taken self-defense classes in the past, and found Mary to be an interesting teacher. Mary taught Debbie more aggressive moves. Despite Debbie's eagerness, her progress was slow. As Mary's pregnancy developed, it became dangerous for Mary to continue sparring, so Debbie hired an instructor that agreed to come out to the shack twice a week and continue Debbie's education. Mely and June were still around, occasionally. Both of them had a condo on the big island that Debbie purchased for the two of them, and that is where Mely stayed most of her time. June, on the other hand, took to staying more and more in one of the new guest houses on the property so she could be readily available when one of us needed her services. June was also very excited about Mary's pregnancy, and the two women were often seen together, taking shopping trips together about once a week. The first letter arrived from Kristen (from the Goddess club), and she had told us about how happy she was to be looking forward to her first child. Mary wrote back for all of us, telling her excitedly that she was also pregnant now, and added a lot of girl talk that expectant mothers are prone to do. When Mary was in her fourth month, William Voder sent a message to Aimee that Colonel DiPietro had more or less abandoned his investigation of the four of us, although there was still an agent on Maui that would inform him if our status changed. ------- I could tell that Debbie was starting to get cabin fever. Hawaii is truly an island paradise, but truth be told, Debbie loved traveling. She kept reminding me that I had promised to take her to all of the Goddess clubs, and the closest one was in Los Angeles. She also reminded us that she had interrupted a tour of her father's properties when she had met up with Mary and me in San Diego. I polled Mary and Aimee, and found that they were all willing to take a small trip back to California and the southwestern United States, so June rented a Cessna to take us to the big island, and from there, Mely flew us to the mainland. The Goddess club in L.A. was a bit larger than the one in Chicago. Even though the House Band wasn't playing there at the time we were there, the place was sold out and the entertainment was still first rate. The group performing when we were there had the intriguing name "Aural Fantasy," and their style of blues music was wonderful, although I didn't recognize more than one or two of the songs during the entire night. At the club, most of us drank soft drinks (pitchers, actually) and Aimee drank apple juice. We were all willing to give up alcohol in deference to Mary's condition. Since the club had a policy of free drinks for designated drivers, our waiter declared our entire table safe! While we were in California, Aimee surprised us by announcing that she was going to head north to do some research. June drove her to her destination, which turned out to be a midwifery school up state. Aimee took general lessons on learning how to help out with a first time delivery. The classes were fascinating to Aimee, and soon, Aimee would get her DONA certification as a doula, a term that means "woman servant." A doula is a woman, usually one that has been through childbirth, who helps an expectant mother during pregnancy. A doula is differentiated from, say, a midwife in that a doula assists the mother before, during, and after delivery as an adviser, whereas a midwife is a medically certified professional that actually delivers babies. The role of a doula was very well suited for Aimee's disposition. Aimee took a few classes to learn more about the concept and the role of a doula in childbirth. The rest of us spent a few days seeing the sights in Los Angeles, and when June came back (without Aimee), we all drove south to San Diego, where we spent about a week. During our trip, June was our driver. Aside from that, we treated June as if she were a full part of our group, which she really seemed to appreciate. In San Diego, I pointed out the hospital where I had been in a coma, and we went inside to pay a visit to the nursing staff that had spent so much time watching over me. Of course, they remembered Mary and me, and we introduced Debbie and June as our friends. The nurses were excited to hear that Mary and I had married and that Mary was expecting. She even got a free ultrasound, although I made the nurses promise not to reveal the gender of our child... Mary was the kind of person that really wanted to find out at the last moment. We stayed at Debbie's apartment complex, staying in separate apartments. Debbie and I stayed in the apartment where Debbie had been living when we met, and June and Mary shared Mary's old apartment. We hired some people to help pack some of the things that Mary still had in that apartment and arranged for shipping of Mary's remaining stuff back to Makena. Mary (and I) had many fond memories of this apartment, and I knew that I would be sad when we left San Diego, knowing that we'd probably never stay at that apartment again. During our week in San Diego, we visited Peter's Restaurant a couple of times. This was the place where Mary had once worked as a waitress. Peter, the owner of the place, remembered Mary and the rest of us, and we introduced him to June. The meals, of course, were as excellent as they had been before. Another place we visited in San Diego was a place that Debbie had heard about that she wanted to see. She told us it was a barbecue restaurant, and it was supposedly a place where they filmed scenes of a Hollywood movie about the Navy that I hadn't seen. Upon our entrance to the place, we passed through the bar. It was difficult to miss the odd collection of autographed feminine lingerie hanging from the ceiling. My impression of the place was that it was a sleazy bar, and I wondered what the attraction was for Debbie. I quickly found out that the food was surprisingly good--the ribs were simply marvelous! During our meal, I asked my companions if any of them wanted to donate to the collection of underwear in the bar, and only Debbie volunteered, although Mary and June talked her out of it eventually. From San Diego, June drove us to Arizona where we stopped for a few days in Tuscon, which was a city close to the army base where Mary had been stationed. Mary knew a few places in Tuscon from her time in the service, and was happy to show us all around. This was one of the few places we stopped where Debbie didn't have property, so we ended up staying at a nice hotel instead. We continued driving east through Arizona and New Mexico to the outskirts of El Paso, Texas, where Debbie had a ranch. Like the ranch in Utah, this ranch had people working it, and we stayed at a guest house that was the size of a large house with three bedrooms. We had once been warned that this place might be bugged, so we were careful to keep our conversations neutral in case somebody might be monitoring us. Despite the fact that the guest house had been adequately stocked in anticipation of our arrival, the three of us mostly ate out in town, and even spent a couple of nights in a hotel there. June went to the airport in El Paso and picked up Aimee, who had returned from her doula classes, and she told everybody what she had learned, explaining the concept of a doula to us. It was about this point that it was Mary that was starting to get restless. She kept mentioning that she wanted to get back to Makena. Aimee assured everybody that Mary's restlessness was mostly due to Mary's hormones changing and the fact that she just wanted a single place to rest and relax, much like a pregnant cat will search out a comfortable place to rest and eventually have her kittens. I would soon learn that Aimee's educational trip would be a boon to all of us. After spending a week in El Paso, we went to the airport where Mely met us in Debbie's jet to take us back to Maui. Despite the fact that our latest adventure had ended, we all enjoyed the peaceful relaxation of life at the shack, which was quickly becoming our home base. Debbie seemed happier than she had been before we had taken the trip, and we all decided we would spend the rest of Mary's pregnancy at the shack, planning for the upcoming delivery. June and Mely, equally excited about Mary's impending childbirth, stayed with us also in Makena, taking up residence in one of the guest houses. In private, I promised Debbie that once Mary's child was born, we'd continue our tour of the country, and make sure that we'd visit all of the Goddess clubs. Although I had every intention of carrying through on this promise, it turned out to be overly optimistic. ------- Mary looked positively radiant as an expectant mother. After she started to show, I decided to use alternate sexual positions to keep my weight off her. My reasoning was that I didn't want to do anything that might possibly endanger the new life that she was hatching. Mary and Aimee both complained that I was being way overprotective of Mary, but I already knew that. I was excited that I was going to have a child, and I couldn't wait until the delivery date. Aimee occasionally joined Mary and me in bed, and those nights were usually the most relaxing nights Mary and I spent together. I didn't ignore Debbie or Aimee, but I did focus most of my nighttime activities with Mary, mostly to reassure her that I wasn't taking her for granted, and that I loved her even though her figure was changing. Mary's womb was expanding, and her breasts will filling out nicely, and I made every effort to assure Mary that she was still looking wonderful. Over the next few months, I saw Patricia a few times when I was in town, usually when I was shopping. She was the person that Mary had identified as a person that had been following us. I no longer saw her as constantly as much as I had a few months earlier, and seeing her seemed more a coincidence now, rather than us catching her watching us. Despite the fact that our family had jointly decided that it wasn't worth the risk of contact, Aimee actually struck up a friendly conversation with the woman one day at the market. According to Aimee, Patricia was easy to talk to, and readily admitted to Aimee that she was a private investigator. Aimee did not let on that she knew that Patricia had been investigating us, but after their conversation, Aimee felt that Patricia's demeanor wasn't quite natural, and the entire visit ended up worrying Aimee rather than easing her mind, although Aimee didn't explain what was bothering her. As Mary's pregnancy progressed, Aimee warned her about the dangers of retaining water in the hot climate. She made sure Mary removed her rings from her fingers before they would swell, and Mary took to wearing her gold and platinum marriage rings on a necklace that she wore every moment of the day, keeping them "close to her heart." I had thought that once Mary became pregnant, the other two women would also be chomping at the bit to have their own children as well. That didn't turn out to be the case. I asked Aimee about this one day. Aimee answered, "This is Mary's time. Debbie and I have our lives ahead of us, and we want Mary to have her time in the limelight. This may be her only child, and we're all excited and happy for her. She is even starting to mother us even more than before she became pregnant. Waiting also allows us to space our children apart so that the older ones will help the younger ones grow up without too much competition." "Sounds like you really thought this out," I said. "Debbie, Mary, and I had a long talk after the wedding in San Francisco, and I had plenty of time to think about it when I was learning about childbirth." I asked, "Aimee, did you take those courses in California just for Mary?" "Actually, I did it more for myself and our entire family, rather than just for Mary, but Mary was a big part of it. My aunt that helped my mother in a similar way before I was born, and my mother told me that it was her sister that made a big difference for her. When I was studying, I was fascinated by the concept of the doula, and I wanted Mary to have the same advantage that my mother had. My aunt wasn't a doula by name, but she was a helpful influence with my mother." I was proud of Aimee. It was obvious that her efforts were truly focused on our family. About two weeks before Mary's due date, Debbie rented a condo near the hospital so we would be close when the time came. The delivery would be in a birthing room in a hospital that Aimee recommended in Oahu. At five minutes after nine o'clock in the evening, on June 21, 1989, Dawn Elaine Montgomery was born, weighing in at eight pounds, nine ounces. In the delivery room was Mary, her husband, and her two best friends that she called her sisters. The birthing room wasn't too crowded, and Debbie's money went far. Aimee's doula training and our collective Empathic abilities really seemed to help Mary during the intense labor contractions that she experienced. The doctor was impressed at how smoothly the delivery went. Mary's labor had lasted nearly six hours, which was apparently a short period for a first-time delivery with an older mother. The name Dawn had been selected by all three of the women, and Elaine was Mary's mother's name. My only contribution to my daughter's name was my being asked if I liked the name they chose. I remember with pride holding Dawn for the first time, when a nurse handed her to me. It was obvious to me that she was the most beautiful girl in the world. At birth, she had dark hair, pudgy cheeks, and purple skin. Despite the fact that Dawn's face was contorted as she cried, I knew that she would have a smile that would light up a city. In retrospect, she could have had scales, a goatee beard, and an ankle growing out of her head, and to me, she would still be the most beautiful little girl in the world. I handed her to Mary, telling my wife that she had done a great job. Debbie and Aimee held Dawn soon afterward, and the nurses took a very lovely picture of my daughter, naked except for a silly knitted cap that the nurses insisted on putting on her head. They could at least have given her a diaper or something; somehow I knew that picture would cause her no end of embarrassment when she got older. Debbie, who had her own camera, had the nurses take pictures of Dawn with the four of us as well, and I had mercifully made sure she was properly wrapped in a small blanket the hospital had handy. Around midnight, the nurses came into Mary's private room and spirited my daughter away into the nursery, saying that she had enough excitement for her first three hours of her life. Not too long after that, Mary fell asleep, totally exhausted. We decided to call it a night--the nurses had told us that they would wake up Mary if Dawn woke up and needed nursing. When we left Mary's room, we found June and Mely still in the reception area. They had already seen Dawn in the nursery, and congratulated me, although I assured everybody that Mary did most of the work. June drove us back to the condo, and we went home for the night. Aimee fell fast asleep as soon as her body hit the bed. Apparently, she had experienced a lot more emotional drain than usual during the childbirth process. Aimee would eventually be able to parlay her experience later on when she went to get her certification as a doula. Debbie didn't seem as sleepy as Aimee, and the two of us talked once we were at home. I cuddled with the curvaceous Debbie. "Aimee told me that one of you will be the next one to try to have a baby. Dawn is going to be a hard act to follow." Debbie smiled at me. "There's no rush to have a bunch of children right now. Aimee has said she was considering not having children, or waiting some time." "How do you feel about children, Debbie?" Debbie shrugged. "I'd like to see how it feels once Dawn comes home. Dawn is as cute as a button, and she has your eyes. I bet you she'll have Mary's dark hair." "I think I see Mary's cheekbones in Dawn as well." "You're really proud, aren't you, Jim?" "I never felt that I would be looking forward to having a child until Mary showed how determined she was to become a mother. I mean, I never considered myself husband material, let alone a father. At first, I thought I would do it just for Mary, but after a day or so, I was actually looking forward to having my own daughter." Debbie smiled. "Everybody that saw you tonight could see you were a proud new father." "It was nice that Mary got a private room, and that Aimee secured the birthing room for the delivery, Debbie." "Aimee thought it would be money well spent." I nodded. "I can't begin to tell you how much that we appreciate all the stuff you've done for this family." "We all contribute, Jim. Most of you contribute more than I do." "That's not true!" I said, hoping that I wouldn't have to have the same conversation that I once had to have with Mary. "You are all an important part of the whole." "I know, Jim," Debbie said softly. I could feel a wisp of Debbie's melancholia start to permeate the room. "I mean, you all go out of your way to tell me how much you appreciate me. Sometimes, however, it feels like you tell me so often that you are trying to convince yourselves." I hugged Debbie. "No. The person we're trying to convince is you. We can all feel your uncertainty at times, my lovely Radio." Debbie nodded her head and smiled, still holding me tightly. I moved my face and kissed Debbie on the cheek. I continued kissing Debbie until she moved her face so that I could reach her lips and she started kissing me back. I'm not exactly sure how long we kissed, but it was a long time. The two of us fell asleep in each other's arms. ------- The two girls and I visited Mary the next morning. Aimee had made some cinnamon buns, one of Mary's favorite breakfast snacks. She also brought some milk, orange juice, and some other snacks in a picnic basket. We found Mary and Dawn in bed together. Dawn was asleep, cradled in Mary's arms. "Hello, Gorgeous," I said after seeing the tableau. "Who's the beautiful woman that's holding you?" "You sweet man," Mary smiled. She noticed the girls with me. "Hello, Aimee; hi, Debbie!" I had a vase full of flowers that I purchased at the hospital gift shop, as well as a beautiful pink teddy bear and I presented them to mother and daughter. Mary oohed and aahed, and Debbie put the vase onto the night stand next to Mary's bed. Mary moved over carefully, trying not to disturb her daughter, and inhaled their fragrance. Aimee presented Mary with a stuffed pink flamingo as well. We all said our hellos, and each of us kissed Mary, and gave a quick peck on Dawn's cheek. "Aimee made some cinnamon buns," Debbie announced. Mary didn't answer that, but made a yummy sound instead. "Did they feed you breakfast?" Aimee asked. Mary shrugged. "Bland eggs and some toast with decaffeinated coffee." "We have milk and O.J. with some pastries," I said. Aimee was setting up her picnic basket on one of the tables in the room. She pulled out a paper plate and put one of the buns on it, and poured some milk for Mary. Debbie carefully took Dawn from Mary's arms, careful not to wake up the infant. A nurse came into the room with a disapproving look in her eyes. "Only two visitors at a time are allowed." We all stared at the nurse with disbelief. Aimee said, softly, "You know as well as I do that this particular rule does not apply to private rooms. In addition, Mary's doctor has said that our presence here has had a calming effect on the mother, rather than the opposite." "Who do you think you're talking to?" the nurse demanded, raising her voice. Aimee is not a person that you can bully. When she gets angry, she doesn't yell. If anything, her voice gets softer, and she lowered her voice even more. "From your name tag, it appears that I am talking to Nurse Dennon. From your attitude, though, it would also appear that I might be talking to a candy striper who is dressed up in a nurse's costume." The nurse looked at Aimee in disbelief. Aimee wasn't finished. "This man here is Mary's husband, Captain Jim Montgomery," she said, indicating me. "Debbie and I are also part of her family. We have the permission of the director of this hospital that our needs would be met and that the people would be treating Mary here as a guest, and not as a sick patient. Delivering a child is not the same as being treated for a disease, and if you were a nurse, especially one on a maternity ward, you'd know this yourself. Nobody requested you to come into this room. You may now leave or show me the reason why you are in this private room, without having been summoned." You could have heard a pin drop. Dawn squirmed a bit in Debbie's arms and opened her eyes. Thankfully, she didn't cry. "We'll see about this," the nurse said, not wanting to back down. Nonetheless, she bid a hasty retreat and left the room. I'm very sure that Aimee had done her homework. She had made arrangements in advance of Mary's labor to ensure we received the proper treatment. Hospitals are usually especially accommodating to people that are willing to pay cash in advance. If the nurse were to check things out, it would definitely turn out that Aimee's words were, if anything, an understatement. "I'm sorry, Mary," Aimee said after the nurse left. "Huh?" Mary asked, confused. "What for?" "I'm sorry I caused a scene in here." "That's all right." "It is not all right that I made a scene, and I'm sorry if it made you feel uncomfortable," Aimee insisted. "I didn't want that nurse to start imposing unnecessary rules on us." "Forget about it, Aimee," Mary said. "I'm sure the nurse didn't realize." There was an awkward silence, but I found myself staring at my beautiful daughter, who was now awake and lying quietly in Mary's arms. Dawn's eyes were big and round and were the most amazing shade of blue that I'd ever seen, although all three girls said that Dawn had my eyes. Debbie saw where my attention was directed, and with Mary's permission, she took Dawn from Mary, walked over to me, and handed me my daughter. "You look amazing," I said to Dawn. "You have your mother's cheek bones." The incident with the nurse was all but forgotten as the four of us started fussing over our little bundle of joy. After few minutes, Dawn started to fuss. I quietly delivered her back to Mary, who decided to feed her. Aimee helped her get Dawn into the correct position (those lessons she took in California were wonderful!), and soon, Dawn was happily feeding at Mary's breast. As I mentioned before, Mary's breasts had increased their size during her pregnancy. At this point, they were nearly the same size as Debbie's. A few weeks before, Mary had let me have a taste of her milk, which was an interesting experience. Although I wasn't a person that found anything sexual in lactation, Mary seemed to enjoy the attention. June and Mely came in to visit for an hour or so, bringing a box of chocolates and a vase of orchids. Each of them appreciated that we allowed them to hold Dawn. They held her as if she were a delicate piece of crystal. After only two days at the birthing center, Mary and Dawn were ready to go. Mary told me that after the confrontation with Aimee, she had never seen or heard from that nurse that had tried to limit Mary's room to two visitors at a time. With that exception, the entire nursing staff were cheerful and helpful for the entirety of her stay. Mary had been told that walking and swimming were two exercises that would help her lose the thirty or so pounds that she had put on during her pregnancy, and she was advised not to try to starve her way back to her normal weight, since that could adversely affect her health and that of Dawn, who Mary was nursing. Another form of daily exercise, we found, was just looking after Dawn. Despite the fact that she had four people ready to dote on her, it took time before we fell into a routine. It was easy to fall in love with a beautiful baby like Dawn, and the four of us equally shared in all the parental chores, with the notable exception that only Mary nursed the baby, being the only one properly equipped for that role. Mary occasionally found it necessary to draw her milk using a breast pump, and afterward each of us could take turns feeding Dawn with some of Mary's saved milk. I had thought that Mary's mood swings would end after the delivery. Aimee explained that this wasn't the case. Apparently, Mary's hormones were still changing, but thankfully, we had our mind connections to reassure Mary that she was truly loved and appreciated by everyone, and we were thankful that there was no postpartum depression. It would be difficult if a misunderstanding were to go unheeded, so we were all watching over Mary almost as much as we were watching over Dawn. It took a couple days after coming back from the hospital before Dawn's nighttime habits stabilized. Her feeding schedule seemed to be about every couple of hours, but she managed to sleep about six hours straight at night, and for about four hours during the day as a nap. We fit our lifestyle around her. One or more of us would always be with Mary during Dawn's meals, happy to talk with her. I worked out a five kilometer course along the roads around the shack where Mary could exercise, and I found myself enjoying our daily strolls, wheeling Dawn in a carriage. Mely and June were usually around as well, urging us to go out to dinner so they could have a few hours with our precious baby. During the first two weeks after we returned from Oahu, Debbie added equipment to the exercise room that Aimee had recommended for Mary's recuperation, as it would be a few weeks before Mary was able to once again work out with Debbie as they once again practiced their martial arts together. Meanwhile, Debbie and I sparred together occasionally. We were about evenly matched, despite the fact that I was physically stronger. The only problem with Debbie was that she wasn't overly aggressive, and that gave me a slight advantage. Her advantage, of course, was her voluptuous body, which would occasionally distract me to the point where Debbie might actually get me in a simple hold. When that happened, of course, I'd squirm around until I was on top of her, and the sparring match would be called on account of sex. Debbie jokingly suggested that it would be more efficient if we simply sparred together in the nude. ------- About ten weeks after Dawn was born, Debbie and Aimee made a trip to New York together, mostly to get a few of Debbie's loose ends tied up. Debbie asked her Uncle Chuck to arrange for the sale of a few of her properties that she'd never have any interest in keeping. The ranch in Salt Lake City would be given to Angus and his growing family as a gift, and a few of the other properties could be sold or given to their caretakers. Charles suggested that some of the ones that Debbie indicated be retained as possible investments in the future, which is why Debbie's father had purchased them in the first place. In addition, and I didn't know it at the time, Debbie formed a limited partnership into which she put everything she had inherited from her father, naming the four of us as equal partners, and the firm in Hawaii as our legal and accounting staff. While Debbie and Charles Penet were discussing the partnership, Charles suggested that Debbie keep a small portion, perhaps only five million or so, in a safe deposit box or someplace else that didn't draw interest, so if anything catastrophic should happen, she'd at least have something to fall back upon. After discussing this, Debbie finally decided on a course of action that seemed to satisfy both Debbie and her Uncle Charles: Debbie, each of her sisters, and I would have some sort of safe deposit box or whatever they came up with. The exact details of this arrangement remain unknown to me to this day, but I think, since Debbie has never been embezzled, I'll probably only find out about it if I outlive Debbie. If anything, it will become a legacy to each of my children equally. That money isn't important to me; I still have more money than I really need at that bank in San Diego where Mary used to work, although I only think about it once a year at tax time. It's not anywhere near what Debbie had, of course, but it was still a nice sum. Debbie and Aimee were lucky enough to see the House Band perform at the Isle of the Goddess location in New York. Kristen recognized the two of them when they got into the club, and arranged for Debbie and Aimee to sit with her personal manager, Patty Nadal. The girls were surprised when they discovered that Patty just happened to be babysitting Tricia Beth, Kristen's six month old daughter. The two musicians spent some time at their table between sets, and even dedicated a song called "Tricia Beth" to the youngster in the second set. Pictures of Dawn were traded for those of Tricia Beth, and everyone promised that our families would be exchanging letters and even more pictures soon. While Debbie and Aimee were visiting the Big Apple, Mary and I took the opportunity to get closer together. I let her make lunch while I cooked supper, as my expertise in the kitchen was starting to increase. I tried sparring with Mary in the exercise room, but I could easily tell that Mary was pulling back quite a lot with me. She was close to black belt material (she wouldn't actually tell me how close), and the only thing I had over her was raw strength and that wasn't much. Additionally, strength can work against you in most martial arts styles. Mary was ruthlessly aggressive in her workouts, which was alarming. Mary was shedding the natal weight she had gained, and she once again was close to her original weight. I found that the look in her eyes when she was sparring told me that it would be the biggest mistake of my life to allow myself to become distracted by Mary's lovely body when we were exercising, as I had been prone to do with Debbie. By this time, our daily walk/jog route had grown close to ten kilometers, and we jogged part of it. Dawn seemed to enjoy it when we raced down the road. June occasionally joined us on our jogs, having nothing much else to do now that Mely had returned to the big island. Mary and I spent some time putting up a swing set for Dawn, even though she wouldn't be able to use it for a while. We also spent a part of each day on a blanket at the beach. I must tell you that having a beautiful daughter at the beach is a great way to get the attention of girls, and it is a delight when girls--most topless and some even bottomless--would approach you to strike up a conversation and look at and coo over your daughter. Mary didn't seem to mind this attention, as a lot of it was lavished on her as well, people telling her that her figure was fantastic for a mother of such a young baby. Mary, June, Dawn and I became regulars at some of the local restaurants downtown. The people always doted on Dawn, and we would put Dawn's carrier on top of a high chair. The fact that Dawn usually slept throughout our meals made her less of a problem for other customers trying to enjoy their meals. However, to be safe, we usually ate a couple of hours before or after the times that the restaurants would be crowded in order to minimize any impact that an occasionally fussy Dawn might have on other patrons. This seemed to be common practice, as we saw other couples with young children at those times. ------- Debbie and Aimee hadn't come back yet from New York, and now it was me that was starting to get cabin fever. It was nice to be able to relax and not have to worry about anything except playing with your daughter or changing her diaper, but the newness of this was wearing off. Even the swing set had been completed, and I was looking for something different to do. I started reevaluating my life. When I was younger, I had decided that I would join the army and pursue a career in it until I retired. A twelve year coma did away with that. Now, thanks to Debbie's wealth, I had nothing to do except stay at home. The novelty, even now having a wonderful daughter, was no longer there. Mary noticed how I felt, and she brought it to my attention almost before I had actually acknowledged it myself. "Jim, what are you going to do with your life?" "Huh?" I asked, feigning ignorance. "I've been living with you for a year and a half, Jim," Mary said. "You pace when something is bothering you, and it's starting to drive me crazy." "I'm sorry, Gorgeous," I said. "I guess I was also thinking about how I wanted to spend the rest of my life." Mary nodded. "Feeling useless cooped up in the shack?" "That's not completely it," I said, wondering how to express myself without hurting Mary's feelings. "Let's take our walk. Let me get Dawn's stroller and we'll do a good ten." I found the equipment, and dressed Dawn in a cute two-piece bikini that Aimee had bought right before she left for New York. As we went outside, I saw June doing stretching exercises on the lawn. "Jim, Mary... going for your walk?" June asked, noticing me pushing Dawn. "Yeah, June." "Mind if I join you?" "Sure thing, but we're just walking today," I said. I didn't know if we were going to continue the conversation that Mary had started now that June was around. June, however, was too nice a person to deny her request. She worked out even more than Mary did, using mostly the Universal Gym that Debbie had installed inside our house, occasionally getting Mary to do stretches with her. I also saw June constantly swimming laps in the pool and running up and down the beaches, apparently favoring the sand as it made her exert more effort when she ran. Mary, on the other hand, didn't see any problem continuing our conversation in front of June. Mary wasn't going to let me get off the hook so easily. "You still haven't told me what you want to do with your life, Jim." "What more do I need? I have you, Dawn, Debbie and Aimee. We have Debbie's lovely employees," I said, smiling at June. "We can hop on a plane or be driven anywhere." "And you're bored to death," Mary pointed out. I shrugged. "I don't know what I want to do. Long ago, I had planned on being in the service, but that's no longer possible." "You could re-enlist," Mary pointed out. "William told you that you were only given a disability discharge because you were put in harm's way." "You were in the army, right?" June asked, feeling free to enter the conversation. "Yeah," I said. "One year plus twelve and a half in the hospital." June bent over and tickled Dawn, who squealed in reply. "Do you qualify for the G.I. bill?" June asked me. I didn't know if I did, but June's question had started my mind working on new possibilities. "You should do what Mely and I do when we're on the big island," June suggested. "We take courses at the University. Sometimes we do it to just learn new things, so we take the courses that sound exotic. Debbie pays us well enough for doing next to nothing, so we have more than enough time on our hands." "I never thought of that," I said. "I might be too old for the University, though." "Bullshit," Mary said. "Grown adults attend University every day." June nodded at Mary in agreement. "Do you have a list of the courses they offer?" I asked June. "Probably in the cottage," June said, referring to the guest house where she usually stayed. "Mary, would you be interested in attending college?" I asked, wondering if she would want to attend with me. "I would really prefer staying at home with Dawn," Mary said. "The University of Hawaii has branches throughout the state," Mary said. "We could get Mely to commute you to a convenient site." "That would take a lot of gas and wear and tear on Debbie's jet," I pointed out. "A Cessna would be easier and cheaper," June said. "And I could fly that myself. Maybe you'd like flying lessons? I'm not certified to teach, but I think Mely is. I'd really be willing to help." That intrigued me. "There's other things," June continued. "There's boating, scuba diving, even playing golf. You can't tell me you can't find a thing to do in Hawaii!" "June has a good point there, Jim," Mary agreed. "Living a life of leisure doesn't mean being tied to a house doing nothing." "Aimee told me she'd teach me to use computers," I said, starting to get some ideas myself. "Yeah. She's teaching me Lotus 1-2-3," June said. "Mely's got a Macintosh as well, and it has the most amazing graphics programs. You can get a great computer system for as little as a couple thousand dollars." I picked up the pace of my walking, as the ideas were running through my head. Dawn made a happy sound as her stroller made louder noise as we moved faster down the street. Of course, hearing Dawn's reaction made me move a bit faster still, and pretty soon, the three of us were running down our path. It took us about an hour and a half to make the 10-K circuit. Mary went inside to change and rinse off Dawn, who now had a little bit of road dust on her, leaving me with June. "Jim?" June said once Mary was out of the way. "Yes?" I said, pouring three glasses of lemonade from the refrigerator. "If you ever need anything... anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask. Mely and I usually don't do have much work to do, and we're always going out and doing things to amuse ourselves. Feel free to tag along with us." "I'll think about it, June," I said, handing her a glass. The way that June was asking me made me feel a tiny bit uncomfortable. Neither Mely nor June ever brought up our unusual lifestyle, although it was be apparent to them that there was something different about the relationships in our house. In addition, the two girls seemed to be best friends and I didn't want to intrude on their friendship. June drank her lemonade, and then went out to the back yard. Later on in the day, I had changed into a bathing suit and went outside to the pool to look for Mary. Instead, I found June swimming laps. She only had on the bottom half of her bikini. I had seen June topless before, sometimes on the nude beach, and most of the time when she was in our pool, swimming laps. She didn't seem to be embarrassed about her body, and also didn't seem to mind me looking at her. "Come on in, Jim," June said when she saw me there. "I didn't want to interrupt your laps." "Mary said she'd be coming in. I thought she had been looking for you." "Maybe she's putting Dawn down for a nap." "So, join me. You already have your suit on." I did so, and June continued her laps. The water was warm, but cool enough to be refreshing. June went racing from one end of the pool to the other, doing a smooth sort of somersault when she got near the end of the pool to propel her into the opposite direction. She was marvelously fast, and I found myself sitting in the shallow end, just watching her streak back and forth. Mary found me in the pool and quietly joined me. "She's really fast," I said. Mary nodded. "She almost qualified for the Olympics in 1984." "Really? Swimming?" "No," Mary answered. "I think it was one of the track events." "Wow." "She told me that her mother tried to push her, and she resisted, I think. She now exercises for herself, and she tells me she enjoys it more this way." "She's got a great wholesome body." Mary smiled. "You're sitting in a pool with your wife and the mother of your child, and you tell me that this topless girl in our pool has a nice body?" "I know you're not the jealous type," I grinned. "Well, just don't take me for granted, hubby." "I'll never do that again," I promised. The two of us kissed for a few moments when I realized that June had stopped her swimming and was watching us from the deep end of the pool. I broke the kiss with Mary, and waved June over. Without hesitation, June swam to the shallow end. "Is Dawn in her cradle?" "Yes. I must have fed her a quart this afternoon!" I looked at Mary's breasts. "I hope you alternated sides. I wouldn't want you to have one breast like Debbie's, and the other like Aimee's!" Mary playfully splashed water in my face for that remark. "Speaking of Aimee," June said. "She called me at the cottage earlier and said that Debbie and she would be arriving in Honolulu the day after tomorrow. Mely will fly them out to Maui and I'll be picking them up to take them here about three in the afternoon." "Great!" I said, having missed the two girls. "We should do something special for them," Mary said. "Like what?" June asked. "Aimee is easy," I said. "Just buy about a ton of purple orchids. What do you do for Debbie, though?" "Cook her favorite meal?" Mary suggested. "I can't cook those Asian things," I said. "Believe me, Aimee tried to teach me." "What does Debbie like?" June asked. "Chicken Pad Thai is one that I can pronounce." "I can make that," June said. "It's quite simple. Aimee probably has all the noodles and peanuts and everything in the kitchen." I shook my head. "I couldn't ask you to do cook for us!" June sighed. "Jim, although I work for you, drive you anywhere you want to go, and occasionally fly you around, I am also your friend. I made the suggestion as such, not as an employee." Mary gave me a look that told me that I shouldn't argue the point. "I'm sorry, June," I said. "I wasn't thinking." "That's alright, Jim," June smiled. "You're sweet, but you're a man. Sometimes, your gender gets me all aggravated." I laughed. The three of us played in the pool together for another hour before coming out. I had a pitcher of sangria in the refrigerator and brought it out with three large glasses of ice and poured the cold concoction. "Only half a glass for me. I'm still nursing Dawn," Mary warned. I nodded. "Actually, I only used about half the wine that Debbie's recipe calls for, Mary." "That's why yours taste fruitier!" Mary smiled. "That's sweet! June's right, you are sweet, but I never find you aggravating." "You did once." "And Aimee corrected that." June blushed at the mention of her earlier comment, but seemed intrigued in the banter between Mary and me. She smiled as she took the drink when I offered it to her. I looked at the lovely blonde. "June, do you think you could fly Mary and me to the big island tomorrow? We can stay at a hotel overnight and then we'll all meet Debbie and Aimee when they arrive." "Why don't you stay at our condo on the big island?" June suggested. "We've got two bedrooms and Mely and I could bunk together." "We don't want to be an imposition..." June rolled her eyes. Mary interrupted. "Jim, I can see how June thinks you're aggravating!" I sighed. I hated imposing on people, and Mary knew it, but she was taking June's side in these issues. "You're probably right," I said softly, not wanting to belabor the point. After we drank our drinks, I went upstairs to check on Dawn. She was awake, and smiling. She was moving slightly left and right as she stared at a mobile that we had purchased, but after a few seconds, it was obvious that Dawn was more interested in looking at her hands than the mobile that was above her out of reach. I reached into the cradle and picked her up. Dawn was heavier than normal, mostly at the business end of her diaper. I changed her and deposited the messy old one in the diaper bucket for the diaper service to pick up. Since I was already changing Dawn, I decided to change her from her bikini to a light pink sun dress that Mary had out. Dawn giggled as I sprinkled powder on her body; I found out a while ago that baby powder seems to affect at least Debbie and Mary almost as an aphrodisiac... go figure! After a few minutes, during which I playfully tickled Dawn, and then played a game where I called her name a few times, listening as she made random noises in response, I decided it was best to go downstairs. "Awww," said June when she saw my pink bundle of joy. "Look who is up from her nap!" I looked around and Mary wasn't around. I thought this was unusual until I heard sounds from the exercise room. "Oh, Mommy is exercising. Do you want to see Mommy sweat?" June giggled as I headed into the room where Mary was doing some exercises. Seeing Dawn, she said, "Here's Mommy's little girl!" and put down the weight she was pressing and took Dawn from my arms. "Dawn likes watching Mommy sweat," I said. "Daddy likes embarrassing Mommy, doesn't he, Dawn?" Mary said. Dawn, in response, just moved her mouth a bit with a big smile and a little drool on her face. ------- The next day, June flew Mary, Dawn, and me to the big island, calling Mely before we left to meet us at the airport. When we arrived, Mely saw Dawn and said, excitedly, "She's getting so much bigger!" "Babies tend to do that at this age," June pointed out. As Mely cuddled Dawn, I asked June and Mely where their favorite restaurant was. June looked at Mely, and then asked us if we had been to the Little Grill. I looked at Mary. "I never heard of it." "Me, neither," agreed Mary. "It's a Cambodian spot," Mely said. "Lots of grilled food. Steak for you, seafood for Mary and June, and they love kids like Dawn." "Sounds like a treat. What do you think, Mary?" I asked. "Sounds exotic," Mary smiled. "Where is it?" I asked. "It's on the way to the condo," Mely said. "About ten minutes from here." Mely offered me Dawn back, so I decided to leave it in her hands. "Dawn, do you want to go to the Little Grill?" I asked her. Dawn reacted with her typical giggle and happy "coo!" That reaction, however, was due to the fact that I had pulled open her top and breathed against her belly, sending vibrations through her. "I take that as a yes," I interpreted. "I think it's unanimous!" Dawn squealed again and we headed for Debbie's limo, where I strapped Dawn into her car seat. "It's a pity she has to face backward," I said. "It prevents whiplash," June said. "I know, but I really doubt Dawn would be looking for an ambulance chaser!" At the Little Grill, the hostess, an older woman, put up a big fuss when she saw Dawn. She called into the kitchen in her native language, and an older gentleman came out. "Who is the mother?" the man asked. We all pointed to Mary. The man went to Mary and kissed the back of her hand. "May God bless you and your wonderful family for many generations. You bring honor to our little shop." Mely hadn't been kidding when she said that this restaurant loved kids. Dawn was treated as a little princess and loved the attention from her new friends. The food was indeed quite good: basic food grilled to perfection with additional sauces for added spiciness and taste. Mary caught me trying to sneak a grain of cooked rice toward Dawn and stopped me. "Jim! You know she's not ready for solid food!" Mary's smile showed that she knew I was only playing around. "I know, I know. It's just a grain of rice, Mary! She has got to try the food here. It's excellent!" The hostess overheard me and beamed at my praise. When we left, the hostess once again called out her husband so they could say farewell to Dawn and her parents, and they told us that we're forever welcome into their little restaurant. Over the years, we came to enjoy visiting that place, and the hostess always remembers Dawn's name when she comes in. ------- Mely had a friend who lived in the same apartment complex who offered her services as a babysitter so we could go out on the town that night. Both Mary and I were more than a bit hesitant; we had never left Dawn alone before, except very occasionally with June and Mely. The decision became moot when Mary alerted me to the fact that she hadn't pressed any milk for a babysitter to feed Dawn, and we didn't want our daughter using formula. Instead of painting the town red, we watched television. It turns out that June was an animation junkie, and had a video of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," a Disney movie that had animated "toons" that interacted with real live people. It came out about a year before I came out of my coma and I had heard about it, but had never seen it. The one thing in that movie that struck me was the voluptuous Jessica Rabbit. She was very sexy, looking almost like an exaggerated cartoon version of Debbie. I pointed this out to Mary, who playfully slapped me in mock protest. I remembered watching Disney cartoons when I had been a child, and I had hoped that Dawn would experience the wonder and humor that I had remembered. Dawn did watch the movie with us, but promptly fell asleep on my lap, only waking up occasionally when some wise remark was said on the television. Mary and I sat together on a small love seat, one arm around Mary's body, and the other cradling Dawn. June and Mely sat on the sofa together, occasionally holding hands. The two looked so happy watching the television together. All in all, it was a wonderful way to spend an evening. ------- Chapter 20 "Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high. And the dreams that you dream of once in a lullabye... !" The next day, June drove us all out to the airport to wait for Debbie and Aimee to arrive. Their flight was expected to arrive at 4:50 PM, and, wonder of wonders, the flight was actually going to be on time. Unfortunately, Dawn was a little ahead of time, and demanded an early dinner from Mary just as the flight arrived at the gate. Mary and June went to find a private place where Mary could feed our precious little bundle of joy. Meanwhile, Mely and I waited at the gate for the two women to arrive. Aimee and Debbie were among the first passengers to come in through the jet way, being that they had flown first class. They saw the two of us, and gave us big hugs. In my mind, I heard Aimee ask, "Master, has everything been fine?" "Of course," I answered Aimee in the same way. "Everything is perfect." "I will love you forever, Master." I cannot tell you how often Aimee repeated those words to me. I didn't know if she ever said the same thing to any of the other women in our life. I do know for a fact that those words came from deep inside her, part of her that I knew could never lie to me. It was a simple phrase that made me feel completely and utterly loved. I earnestly hoped that I would be able to communicate love in a manner so completely and effectively as Aimee seemed to find so effortless. I smiled at the two passengers. "How many bags?" "Just three," Debbie replied. "Aimee sent everything else via courier to Maui directly." "Great thinking," I said. "Aimee's idea," Debbie said. "Then give me a better reason to kiss the sexiest playgirl in the airport." "You need a reason?" Debbie asked, mischievously, moving over to me and giving me a kiss on the lips that left no uncertainty that I was loved fully from that direction as well. That kiss did not go unnoticed by the other passengers disembarking the plane. The four of us had long ago given up keeping any pretense of our affections for one another in front of Mely and June. Even before the official wedding, Aimee had talked with them and told them whatever she thought that they should know, and also counseled them about discussing what happens with us with any people outside our tiny family. This had been another one of Aimee's excellent ideas, and it afforded us greater freedom in expressing our fondness for the people to whom we had promised to devote our lives. Neither Debbie nor Aimee asked where Mary and Dawn were. I was about to explain when Debbie moved out of my arms and ran toward the other end of the gate. "Mary... June... Dawn!" Debbie yelled, eager to see the missing members of her family. Luckily, June had Dawn in a stroller, because the closest I can describe how Debbie and Mary met would be to think about body checks in ice hockey. The two girls met, almost at a run. People all around watched the two girls collide, expecting either one of them or both to end up on the floor. Of course, that scenario didn't happen. Instead, the two girls met at full force, wrapping their arms around each other, hugging each other tightly. I had seen Debbie and Mary do this before, usually in the privacy of our own home. I laughed quietly as tourists stared at the two beautiful women embracing. Debbie pulled away, and said, "It's been too long, sister!" She turned to Dawn and said, "And let me see my darling niece!" In a matter of seconds, Debbie pulled Dawn out of her stroller and up into the air over her head. Dawn looked down on her aunt and squealed, having the courageous resolve of somebody who hasn't yet learned fear. Debbie hugged my daughter carefully and said, "Dawn! You've grown!" A bit of a pause, and then, "Well, it looks like somebody needs changing!" "I just changed her two minutes ago!" June said. "I hope we have more diapers," Debbie said, looking behind the stroller and pulling out a new diaper with a plastic laundry bag for the old one. She looked back in the direction that Mary and June had arrived and found the Ladies room. Without another word, Debbie spirited my daughter away to change her. "And I thought I had a lot of excess energy," June commented wryly. I smiled at June and she smiled shyly back. I thought her action was strange, but I figured it was just June reacting to Debbie's exuberance. Aimee, Mely, and I were now with June and Mary. Aimee hugged Mary and June quietly, saying nothing, although I imagine that Aimee had sent a mental message to Mary in a similar way that she had done with me. "How was your trip, Aimee?" I asked. "Tiring. We had a two hour layover in Los Angeles, but the flights were long." Debbie bounded out of the ladies room with Dawn over her shoulder. "All fixed!" "You seem chipper for a person who has just been flying for nine hours," I said, noticing Debbie's exuberant energy. "Slept on the plane," Debbie said. That was weird. "I thought you told me that you can never sleep on a plane," I said. "On the way in to New York, Aimee taught me some relaxation techniques," Debbie explained. "I slept like a baby... like Dawn, in fact! I woke up a half hour before we touched down." Mary said, "Maybe Aimee can teach me them, too." "I already did," Aimee said quietly. "Huh?" Mary asked, confused. "It's the same principles that I taught you when I helped you prepare for childbirth." "Oh!" Mary said, surprised. We all laughed. "Mely and June picked out a great place nearby that has great Thai food," I said. "Yummy!" Debbie sighed, putting a giggling Dawn back in her stroller. We walked down the hallway toward baggage claim. Debbie, Aimee, Mary, and Mely went down the escalators, while June, Dawn, and I waited for the elevator. As we got down to the lower level, I saw that Dawn was fast asleep. Apparently the excitement of having Debbie having her do acrobatics was tiring for the little tyke. The Thai food was great. I loved the way that ginger and chicken could combine to make something truly remarkable. Debbie's selections were a bit spicier than mine, but still delicious. Everybody seemed happy. Dawn slept during most of the meal. ------- I took June's advice and took flying lessons. Mely recommended a flight school that was nearby, and June came along for the first lesson mostly for moral support. She found out that the school had a course for people that wanted to teach flying, so June enrolled in that, meaning that June would be staying with us on Maui at least through Dawn's first birthday. Our lessons were private, meaning that we weren't part of a class, which allowed the teachers to tailor the courses specifically for each of us. It turned out that being close to forty years old, my reflexes weren't as quick as those of a person half my age. However, I persevered. The things that I couldn't commit to memory, like pre-flight check lists, I simply wrote down. The more important things, like rudder control and the actual mechanics of flight, I was determined to learn correctly. I was by no means a quick student, but the instructors were very patient. They saw in me a determination, and soon realized that I wasn't just a rich person wanting to learn a new hobby. I had learned discipline in the service, and I also had an innate sense of not doing anything just halfway. I enjoyed being behind the controls and the exhilaration of flying, but I never allowed myself to daydream while I was behind the controls. One positive result from my flying classes was that I seemed to become a much better driver in the car, when June would allow me behind the wheel. I found that my senses had been sharpened, and I was slowly learning to pay more attention to things that might go wrong, even in such a (relatively) mundane environment as the roads of Maui. ------- Meanwhile, back in Makena, life had slipped back into its familiar patterns, making changes for slightly different circumstances. Dawn was growing up, and was approaching six months. She had outgrown her cradle, and now always slept with Mary at night, no matter who Mary's bed partner was. Being that they were a matched set, they both took over the master bedroom. Debbie had installed safety rails on that bed so the little one, who loved to roll, didn't fall onto the floor accidentally. One day, a week or so before Christmas, Dawn was awake and on her back, her hands having gotten free of the mummy wrap that one of the girls usually placed on Dawn. She was happily sucking her thumb when I saw her, which made me smile. When she heard me, her head turned, looking at me, smiling in apparent recognition. A few months earlier, I had tried to enter her mind. It was the strangest experience I had ever had--even stranger than the disconnect I felt when I was in my coma. Instead of thoughts being there, all I could feel were raw emotions. And I do mean raw. It was like a light switch; either an emotion would be present in full force, or it wouldn't be there at all. Whatever emotion she was experiencing at the time was all-consuming to her. I almost immediately disconnected, and even so, I had headaches for nearly a week afterward, worrying Aimee no end as to what happened. I think she may have suspected, but if she did, she never said anything about it. I did make myself a promise to not do this again for a while. Now, I was starting to see a bit of personality in Dawn. Her eyes always seemed to be inquisitive, wondering what was going on around her. She had a little rattle that she really seemed to like, as well as a stuffed pink flamingo that Aimee had bought for her when she was born. Those two things were Dawn's prized possessions, and they absolutely had to be in the bed with her; otherwise, Dawn would pout and cry. The rattle was about the only thing Dawn could keep in her tiny hands for more than a few seconds. I don't think she managed yet to get the hang of actively rattling it, but I knew that would come in time. I unwrapped Dawn from her blanket and tickled her a bit. She laughed, instinctively--this was one of her favorite games with me. She had on pajamas that made her look like one of Santa's elves (a present that Debbie had purchased for her when she and June visited Mely on the big island a few weeks earlier), and I straightened Dawn's elongated cap. With the Christmas season upon us, the entire house was starting to get into a festive mood for Dawn's first special holiday. The motif of the master bedroom had been subtly changed from light purple (it was the Orchid Room, after all) to red and green, and we started to jokingly refer to their room as the Christmas Room. In the room was Dawn's own personal Christmas Tree. It was on a table, and all the ornaments on it were large and unbreakable with no tiny parts... completely childproofed. The tree itself was artificial, which had been looked down upon when I was younger, but apparently in the twelve years that I had missed, they started looking more realistic. I picked up Dawn and pulled her to my face and gave her a big kiss. As I did so, I saw a flash go off to my left. I turned slowly, as I was still holding Dawn, and saw Debbie with a camera. "That's so cute, Daddy kissing his little elf!" Smiling at Debbie, I kissed Dawn again, giving Debbie a better pose, and she fired off another picture. I noticed Dawn blinking after that second one, and realized that she probably had enough. I sat Dawn down on the bed, and she toppled over after a few seconds. "Who is cooking today?" I asked Debbie, while putting Dawn into a laying position next to her prized pink flamingo. "You are," Debbie laughed. "Steaks and potatoes?" I asked. "Pork chops and asparagus spears," Debbie said. "I don't cook asparagus!" "Aimee said it's about time you learned. At Mary's last physical, the doctor recommended she eat higher potassium foods." "I know, but papaya also has a lot of potassium." "Papaya isn't a vegetable." I sighed. I don't think I ever win any arguments with the girls. "Fine, if Aimee will teach me. I wonder if she can teach me to like asparagus." Debbie laughed, and moved over to the bed. Dawn immediately shifted her attention from me to the sexy blonde that was now next to me. I was used to this, but normally, that kind of reaction usually comes from men. I left Debbie and Dawn and went downstairs to learn to cook asparagus. ------- On Christmas day, 1989, our extended family celebrated Dawn's first Christmas. The only person missing was Mely, who was taking a month off to visit her own family in Maine. We all wished her a truly white Christmas as she left, and as a family, we sent Mely and her family a certificate good for first class accommodations on a cruise line that served the Caribbean. Unlike most children on Christmas morning, Dawn didn't seem to notice anything different. She slept in the crook of Mary's arm, in between Mary and me. After waking up, I quietly disengaged myself from Mary and Dawn, but my little girl noticed and started crying, waking Mary up. I hated doing this to Mary, but she automatically pulled Dawn up and started nursing her. During this process, Mary's eyes did not even open. I watched the mother and daughter for a few moments, and then continued out of the bed. As I passed the orange Sunrise room, Aimee padded out. "Merry Christmas, Master!" "Merry Christmas, Precious!" I whispered. The two of us shared a brief kiss. Aimee headed for the bathroom as I tiptoed downstairs. The main tree was about sixteen feet in height, dominating the atrium. It looked surprisingly realistic, and there was some incense that would later be lit to give the room a more realistic smell. I sat on my favorite recliner wearing nothing but my robe. It was seven in the morning, and I knew that neither Debbie nor Mary would be up before eight, and June didn't usually arrive from the guest house until nine. Aimee descended the stairs, and I called out to her in my mind. Immediately, Aimee reversed her direction from the kitchen into the atrium where I was sitting. She saw that I was sitting in my recliner, and she smiled at me. Without a word, Aimee dropped to her knees between my legs. "Is my little harem slave having fun this morning?" I asked. "Umm, hmm," Aimee answered, sending vibrations up and down my cock as she had intended. This was one of our little submission games that Aimee and I loved playing. She would enter my mind, and adjust her technique to maximize my pleasure while keeping me erect for a long period of time. On one memorable occasion, she had me going for nearly two hours before she allowed me to shoot a mammoth-sized hot load into her mouth. I allowed Aimee to suck me for about ten minutes before I gave her an actual command. "You are wearing too much clothing." Aimee removed her hands from my cock, leaving it entirely in her mouth. She continued to move her head up and down as she quickly attempted to remove all of her clothing. The trickiest part for her was her panties, which required her to move from her knees without her mouth coming off my prick. I enjoyed watching Aimee squirm around in submission, and I decided to see her squirm even more. As soon as Aimee was naked and her hands returned to my cock, I reached down underneath her armpits and pulled her upwards. My cock exited Aimee's mouth with a pop. I continued lifting the petite Polynesian until I had her as far as I could lift her, and then deposited her slowly down onto my erect penis. Aimee widened her legs, anticipating entry, and I felt her warmth engulf first the head and then the shaft of my cock. "Pleasure yourself on my cock, my sexy harem slave!" Aimee did so, using her legs to move her body up and down my shaft. I could feel her erect clitoris when it touched the base of my shaft, nestled in my pubic hairs before she started her upward motion again. I moved my lips to one of Aimee's pert breasts, and started licking her erect nipple. I could feel our passion growing and growing until... Aimee suddenly froze, completely surprising me. I opened my eyes, and saw Aimee's attention wasn't on me, but was to my left. I followed her gaze and saw June Smythe staring at the two of us. "How long has she been here?" I quickly asked Aimee mentally. "I don't know. I hadn't been paying attention." "Hello, June," I said aloud. June had already noticed that she had been caught spying, and looked a bit embarrassed, but she seemed frozen and didn't move. "Come here," Aimee said, her voice totally lacking any trace of the submissive that had just been riding my cock. As if she were an automaton, June moved over to us, a very uncertain look on her face. Aimee moved her body slowly down so my cock was deep within her cunt. When June was a few feet away, Aimee said, "Don't I get a good morning kiss?" Continuing to move as if she was not in complete control of the situation, June approached Aimee and kissed her on the cheek. "That's not satisfactory, June," Aimee chided. "I saw the look of passion in your eyes. Now kiss me!" June moved ever so slowly toward Aimee, until her lips reached Aimee's. The two girls kissed, and I saw Aimee's lips open, drawing June deeper. As she did this, Aimee resumed her up and down riding of my cock, making June move up and down in order to continue kissing Aimee. I watched, transfixed, as Aimee and June made out while Aimee continued fucking me. I noticed June's hand move upward until it was touching Aimee's breast, and then her fingers started to rub Aimee lightly. Aimee sighed at June's touch, and continued riding me. This was one of my few experiences with sex with multiple partners since the birth of my daughter, although I knew that Debbie, Aimee, and Mary occasionally participated in threesomes. Usually, any threesomes I had usually involved Aimee being a part of the activity, and with her, the sex was always a warm, relaxing experience. This morning, however, was much different, reaching levels of sexual heat that I usually associated only with times that I was alone with Debbie. I had thought that I had experienced every sexual combination possible before, and that I preferred the intimacy of one on one sex, but this new development was very exciting to me. It was also, to my mind, kind of dangerous. I sent a message to Aimee. "Is this a good idea?" "Trust me, Master," was Aimee's simple response. Aimee's hand now moved up under June's blouse, and I could see her rubbing June the way that June was rubbing Aimee. My balls were already overtaxed. I started shooting into Aimee. It seemed that Aimee's orgasm was triggered just a few moments after mine. She moaned her ecstasy into June's mouth. I was amazed at what had just happened. Aimee pulled her hand out of June's blouse. "Now, kiss my Master," Aimee ordered. June looked confused, but did as she was told. I had thought Aimee was a submissive, but June's submissiveness seemed to be an order of magnitude greater than Aimee's. June's lips approached mine, and she kissed me, open mouthed, as Aimee had desired. June's kiss was slow, but exciting. Our tongues touched and she sucked mine into her mouth. Aimee moved off my cock, and then bent down to clean off our combined juices. She said in her dominating voice to June, "Continue kissing him until I return." She headed off to the downstairs bathroom to clean up. I was tempted to rub June's breast as Aimee had done, but decided not to do so. I simply kissed her as she kissed me, now sucking her tongue into my mouth. After a minute or two, Aimee returned from the bathroom. She saw the two of us kissing, and quietly put on her clothes. "You can break off the kiss now," Aimee ordered. "And wish each other a Merry Christmas!" We broke off the kiss and did as we were told. June sounded very embarrassed. I probably looked embarrassed as well. Aimee turned to me and said, "June will wait for us in the kitchen." June once again looked surprised, and glanced at me before she left us as Aimee ordered. "What was that all about?" I asked. "This is not the first time June has spied on you. I know she saw the two of us making love once down here. I didn't mention anything at the time, but when I saw that she was spying on the two of us this morning, I knew that it was not going to be a one time thing." "This isn't good," I said. "It is good," Aimee said. "There will be times when Mary, Debbie, or I won't be around. You are never to sleep alone." "I will not sleep with June!" I said, adamantly. "If what you mean is, you will not fuck June, I will agree with you," Aimee stated, looking deeply into my eyes. "You most definitely will sleep with her, though." "No." I was adamant. Aimee looked at me and pulled my robe back together. "Sometimes, you are the most exasperating man in the whole world, Jim. I don't want you to make the same kind of mistake you almost made with Mary. A mistake like this can cost you your life, and that will have repercussions that I will not tolerate." "I'm not marrying June. That's final." "I didn't ask that." "June is Debbie's employee. It's not proper. I learned a long time ago that such behavior is harassment." "I'm Debbie's employee as well," Aimee responded. "You just enjoyed making love with me, didn't you?" I didn't have an answer to that. Aimee wasn't finished. "You will not spend a night in bed without having Mary, Debbie, June, or I with you. That is final." I knew that it was useless arguing with Aimee. She somehow knew that she was right, although I couldn't see how. "All right," I said, finally. "Explain." "The only time you are in danger, Jim, is when you sleep," my precious Aimee explained. "Don't you remember what brought us to Virginia last year? I still don't know what happened, but something worse would have happened if we hadn't been with you when it happened." "How do you know?" I asked. "I just know. You have to accept that." "Why June?" "Do I have to explain that?" "Do you mean to tell me she's one of us?" I asked. I never had any clue. "She seems to be as weak as Debbie is, maybe more so, since Debbie still manages to affect others." "June?" "She has the gift," Aimee said. "Mr. Voder called it psi-potential. It's the same thing, except he was categorizing something general where it should be more specific." Aimee wasn't making any sense to me. I gave her a confused look. "Jim, you know as well as I do that there are variations of the gift. You experience it in a different way than I do. You don't get feelings when something will happen. You don't get an immediate sense whether somebody is good or bad. However, you are still stronger than me when we communicate without words." "June is an Empath," I said, simultaneously refusing to believe it, and at the same time wondering why I hadn't seen it. "That's a given," Aimee said. "Mr. Voder and James Malen were wrong. It isn't about strength, but about application. Think of it like Mary's martial arts. Although you are physically stronger than she is, she is still able to throw you as if you were Dawn's flamingo." "We apply it differently," I repeated. "Yes," Aimee said, finally giving me a small smile, seeing that I was finally understanding. "June applies it differently, too?" "What do you think?" Aimee asked, cryptically. "How?" I asked. Aimee sighed. "The others will be getting up in a half hour. We don't have the time right now." "When?" "Let's take a private drive tomorrow." I sighed. I hated having to wait for explanations. "Just you and me?" "Yes, Master," Aimee said. She got up and went into the kitchen. I decided that if June was here, I should get dressed in something more presentable. Upstairs, I went into my room, the one with the lime green furnishings. In our home, the ownership of rooms only really implied dressing places, at least as far as I was concerned. I rarely slept in the Lime room, since Aimee was adamant that I never sleep alone. Her explanation was always the same: "We help keep the bad things away." Of course, I had no idea what things she was talking about, but that was the mystical and magical and impenetrable Aimee. Of course, Mary and Dawn were a special case. Although beds were chosen by opportunity, Mary took ownership of the Orchid room solely because it was the best room for Dawn to use, and it had room for a changing table, a small bath, and other baby furnishings. I think there was an unspoken agreement among the girls that the woman with the next child would move into the master bedroom, just as Mary had. I put on slacks and a festive Hawaiian shirt. I re-brushed my teeth before heading downstairs. Aimee and June were in the kitchen, talking softly. The two looked at me, and I noticed that there was no longer any embarrassment in June's face. I wondered what Aimee could have said to the girl to ease her mind so quickly. "What's for breakfast?" I asked. "You cook sausages," Aimee said. "I'll make toast, and June will cook the eggs." "How about omelets?" June suggested. "Sounds nice. Swiss cheese, onions, and snow peas for mine," Aimee said. "Onions and sausage for me," I said. "No cheese." "Omelets?" I heard Mary's voice say as she approached the kitchen. "Just cheese for me." "Where's Dawn?" June asked. "I just came down to get some juice before I feed her again. I swear, that kid is going to weigh a ton!" "Orange or papaya?" Aimee asked. "Orange for now." "Papaya has more potassium," Aimee said as she poured Mary a large glass of orange juice. Mary took it and went back upstairs. Before she left the kitchen, Mary said, "Oh... Cheese and onions for Debbie, June." June smiled as Mary left. "What kind of omelet will you have, June?" Aimee asked. "Onions and sausage, I guess," she answered. Aimee gave me a look that indicated that June's choice being exactly the same as mine may not have been a mere coincidence. I simply shrugged. There wasn't much to making sausage links. Just put them on the griddle, and move them every so often. In the end, with June being at the stove, it was simpler for her to turn the sausages, making my presence unnecessary. As each omelet was made, June would hand it to Aimee, who would then put it on a rack in an oven set for a low temperature to keep the eggs warm. When everybody's meals were complete, the three of us took the food into the dining room. Dawn was sitting in her high chair. Aimee put a tiny plate with about a quarter piece of toasted bread on it. The crusts of the bread had been removed. Mary answered the question that I had been about to ask. "Dawn should be able to eat some soft foods. We're trying toast with her today." "Oooh, Dawn! A special day in more ways than one! Just watch out for that evil rice grain!" I giggled. Dawn looked at me and just opened her mouth, looking much like the Gerber baby on those jars on baby food. Mary took her seat next to Dawn. I sat opposite her, getting a face-on view of my wonderful daughter. Aimee and Debbie flanked Mary, and June and Aimee were on my sides. Dawn had a bit of a problem understanding what she was supposed to do with the tiny piece of toast, apparently trying to suck it. Mary persevered a bit, and got her to gum the food into submission. Mary, undaunted, continued with another piece. "The omelets are wonderful, June," I said. "June made these?" Debbie asked. "Jim made the sausages," June said, fibbing slightly. Christmas breakfast was enjoyed by all, even if Dawn didn't quite get the hang of solid food her first time. Dawn fell asleep during the unwrapping of her presents. This, of course, didn't stop Mary, Debbie, Aimee, and June from picking up packages, opening them, and showing their contents to the unconscious infant. Just about every present under the tree was for Dawn. She now had a new outfit for nearly every day of the year in varying sizes. A lot of them had "Disney Baby" themes, and there were some nice rugged-looking overalls, and a few lovely dresses--it seemed like Mary preferred the "Polly Flanders" style of dresses, although they seemed to me to be a bit big for the tiny infant. All of the girls received presents from me. I went for subtlety and gave each of the women something special that I had found over the past few months. Each one got the significance of my present to them, and that made me happy. I got a present, too. I opened up a package to find two videotapes. One was called "Airplane!" and the other called "Airplane II: The sequel." These were from Mary, who was trying to reintroduce me to the world of movies. The whole family would watch those movies later on. I recognized a bunch of actors that were old even before I was in my coma. It turned out that Mary and I would laugh uncontrollably at most of the scenes, with Debbie and June mostly laughing politely. Aimee seemed amused by the movies, but I never really saw her laugh. ------- On the day after Christmas, Aimee said that she had an errand to run in Kihei and asked me to keep her company. Knowing that we had a discussion to continue, I did so. We parked on a long stretch of highway. Aimee turned to me and said, "We were talking about how different people apply their gift." She was one to get right to the point. "Yes. You were saying how you apply it differently." "Let's go with what you understand. How does Mary apply her gift?" I had already thought about this nearly a year ago. "Mary is totally devoted to me. She loves me, and we communicate on a subconscious level." "That's pretty close." "That's not quite it?" "Do you remember the moment you met?" "Yes. I connected to her. I was staring at the sky, and she saw what I was seeing." Aimee looked at me. "Of course, you have that wrong." "What?" "You did not connect to her," Aimee said. "She connected to you." I shook my head. "Mr. Voder said that Mary wasn't a Super-Empath." Aimee made a face at that statement. "I dislike the terms that Doctor Larson invented. Anyway, that was a misstatement by Mr. Voder. I think I know his reasons, because he didn't want any of us to know or suspect." "Aimee, please explain this to me. I thought I had it all figured out." "You didn't read between the lines of what Mr. Voder told us," Aimee said. "You said that he left things out, and he never denied that. What he also never denied was that he misled you." "Why?" "Let's go back to the time when you were unconscious here in Hawaii. The two of us had been traveling in your dreams, and then you didn't awaken. While you were unconscious, Mary seemed to know that something was wrong, even though she was in another room. We all tried to connect to you. You always said that next to yourself, I was the strongest. However, it was Mary that was able to connect to you and see that you were there, but you weren't dreaming. She had made a connection to you that I couldn't make, and I was desperate at the time!" "How did she do that?" "Mary's gift of communication is stronger, much stronger than mine. I suspect her gift may be even stronger than yours." "Really?" I asked. "Then why is she fixated on me? Shouldn't it be the other way around?" "Mr. Voder has no idea how the gift works except from what he heard from Debbie's father and from what he says Doctor Larson kept in his notes. None of them really knew." I thought about that. "You knew Debbie's father. How come you didn't know that he had the gift?" "I wasn't looking for it when I knew him," Aimee answered honestly. "I only suspected it after I met you. After hearing the story from Mr. Voder, a lot of things fell into place, but some things didn't match what Mr. Voder said." "You said you warned Debbie's father, but he took that flight anyway. If he had the gift, then he knew that he could have taken any other flight, but he didn't." "Yes," the Polynesian nodded, sadly. "He told me that he changed his flight, but he ended up taking the one flight I told him was doomed. I saw this happen one other time." "When?" Aimee told me the story of her mother's sister. "That makes no sense, Aimee," I said. "Your aunt risked her life to save a young boy. I would have done that, if I were in the same situation she was in, seeing danger to a kid. How does something heroic compare to what Debbie's father did?" "My aunt told me to look at the big picture." "Which is?" "It took me a long time to understand," Aimee said, her voice showing her sadness. "I had thought that, somehow, the boy that she saved was important. I only understood a short while ago that the boy was probably immaterial. I now think that she saved that boy's life just so I would be there to learn that lesson." "The boy wasn't important?" I asked, confused. "Look at what happened after James Malen died in that crash," Aimee said, switching gears. "Debbie met me, and I agreed to work for her. We hired June and Mely. We then met you. Would any of that have happened if he hadn't died?" "Debbie's father died so that Debbie would meet me?" "Debbie's father died so that we would all get together. His legacy is fulfilled--I truly believe that his spirit is rejoicing, even now." I thought about this for a few moments. There was some sort of logic to Aimee's suggestion, but it seemed quite fantastic. "Let's say that this is true," I said. "How does this affect Mary?" "James Malen and William Voder knew about you and Mary. Didn't that seem odd to you?" Part of it I understood. "I was supposed to be part of Larson's Zulu Squad of Empaths. Voder hired Larson, so he knew about me." Aimee nodded. "Mary was supposed to be on that squad as well." "What?" Actually, I had just reached the same conclusion, but it was still startling, because it indicated that Mr. Voder had actually lied to us. "Look between the lines," Aimee said. "She was on the same base as you, even though neither of you were stationed on that base--it wasn't even an army base! The two of you connected, just briefly. Then she leaves her military service behind and devotes the rest of her life to you, even to the point of pulling you out of your coma." "William said that Larson didn't have Mary on any of his lists." "Yes," Aimee nodded. "Mr. Voder lied." I shook my head. "Why would Larson want Mary?" "Think about it, Jim," Aimee said. "Mr. Voder said that Mary was a trained assassin. I've only practiced with her once in the exercise room, but she is truly deadly. The only way that I could have survived my practice with Mary was due to the fact that she was not really trying, but testing how good I was. Even so, I was only able to deflect her attacks by reading her mind--I knew what she was going to do about the same time that Mary did. It might have been cheating, but Mary scared me. I know for a fact that Debbie is a black belt and Mary is much more talented in the arts. Mary also has weapons training. Can you imagine what Larson would have done with somebody of Mary's physical and mental talents?" "Are you telling me that the accident was the only thing that saved us?" "I cannot say for sure," Aimee said after thinking a bit. "It's almost definite from the reports that Mr. Voder told us about, and from Mary's account of the accident that nobody else other than you two were involved in the accident, unless James Malen was somehow responsible for Mary being on that road at that particular time. There is another explanation that fits, but you'd consider it even less likely." "And that is?" Aimee studied me a bit before answering. Suddenly, the answer came to me on my own. "Mary hit me with the jeep for the same reason that your Aunt Tomeii ran out into traffic and James Malen took a doomed flight." Aimee didn't answer, but nodded sadly. "You think Mary hit me on purpose?" "Not really, Jim," Aimee assured me. "There may have been something within her that knew she was doing the right thing when she hit you, but she's now convinced that she was distracted. We both know Mary. Has she ever become distracted, especially during an emergency?" I couldn't believe what Aimee was saying. "Mary wasn't distracted?" "No," Aimee said, shaking her head. "Mary would be horrified to think that she ever hit you intentionally, but I truly believe that she did so to save you from Doctor Larson. Mary probably didn't know why she did what she did, and she's convinced herself that she was distracted, and she truly believes it. Mary also said she met with Larson afterward, but that didn't seem right to me. I truly believe that if she had seen Doctor Larson while you were in the hospital, she would have killed him without thinking twice. I think Mary may have met somebody that only claimed he was Doctor Larson. And that would beg the question of why such a thing was done in the first place." I shook my head. Aimee was starting to sound crazy. "Another thing that worries me was that Mary never approved of William Voder," Aimee said. "He always kept his distance from her. I never really got a feeling that he was a bad person, only that he wasn't dangerous to us when we were with him, but it was obvious that Mary never really trusted him. She might share that gift that I have, and if so, it's stronger than my own gift." "Mr. Voder seems to have had too many pat answers for the questions we had," I said, thinking about Aimee's interpretations of events. Aimee nodded. "So, Mary's has three manifestations of the gift. She communicates with us, she can tell if a person is good or bad, and she can put into motion a set of events that affect a greater purpose." "That last one assumes she hit me on purpose," I said. Aimee nodded, but she seemed sure that this was the case, and I could see her reasoning. If James Malen's death triggered Debbie and Aimee meeting me, then Mary's action could have been just as purposeful. I changed the subject. "The next question is if Voder lied to us about Mary, what else did he lie about?" I asked. Aimee said, "You told me that he said he wasn't interested in the gift. He said he wasn't an Empath, but you never probed him." I nodded. "Those could have been lies. Voder was also very unclear on how Doctor Larson got started on his theory of Empaths to begin with." "Doctor Larson could have been an Empath himself," I suggested. "It would explain his preoccupation with something that has been around for thousands of years without too many people noticing," Aimee said. I shrugged. "Just about everybody we've ever met seems to have the gift. Your aunt, yourself, James Malen, Debbie, June, Mary, me..." "Of all those people, I only knew you had the gift without being told," Aimee said. The "gift," as Aimee called it, certainly sounded quite common. If so, this was a reality that I didn't like. "Look at it this way," Aimee suggested, seeing the concern on my face. "The gift isn't as common as it seems to you. The reason that almost everybody around you has the gift is simple: everybody has either been directed toward you or were drawn to you. Mary, Debbie, and I were drawn to you. Debbie and I were also directed to you, if my suspicion about James Malen is correct. June may have been directed by our hiring her, but she's also drawn to you, although she's afraid of it." "You mean to say that I seem to be the focus. Why?" Aimee didn't answer. I thought about what Aimee had told me. About five minutes passed before I finally said, "This seems like James Malen might have had the same intentions as Doctor Larson. Larson was putting together a squad of Empaths to see how they interact. Why did James Malen direct Debbie and you to me? For the same reason?" "I knew James Malen, Jim," Aimee answered. "He was a good man, and it's inconceivable that his motives were the same as Doctor Larson's. In fact, maybe his motives were the opposite... to bring us together to prevent somebody else from doing the same experiments with people with the gift." "A way to protect ourselves?" I asked. Aimee didn't answer. "What about Dawn?" I asked. "If we assume that Mary hit you with a jeep to prevent Larson from getting his hands on you, then it follows that she has always been fixated on you, and if so, the two of you were destined to become husband and wife. Dawn would have happened whether you met the rest of us or not." "OK. How does June enter into it?" I asked, remembering that our discussion the previous day mentioned that Aimee wanted me to sleep with June. "Think about it," Aimee said. "There are six of us, including Mely. Of those six, five of us have the gift." "And Mely?" "You don't know?" "Know what?" "You were at their apartment on the big island, weren't you?" "Yes?" "Whose room did you sleep in?" "Mely or June's. I'm not sure which." Aimee simply sighed. "You stayed in their bedroom. They sleep together." "Mely and June are lovers?" "Yes," Aimee said. "That's why I told you that June's fixation with you isn't sexual. You won't be adding to your harem slaves." I winced at that remark. I sometimes referred to Aimee that way as a silly name when we were play acting. "I'm sorry, Master," Aimee said, softly. "You need to understand that June's relationship with you is not--can not--be expressed through sex. The thought of vaginal penetration by a man is truly repulsive to her. Still, she was spying on us." I shook my head, confused. "You said that I have to sleep with her, but you tell me that the thought of doing so is repulsive to her." "June is fixated on you, despite her sexual inclinations. Her fixation on you is great, though. I think it's even greater than Mary's fixation on you, even though you know as well as I know that Mary loves you completely." This wasn't possible. I said, "You've known this all this time?" "No, Jim," Aimee admitted. "I've suspected some of it. My aunt always told me to look for the good in the bad; to differentiate between the black and the white in a spiral. You gave me a clue in Chicago when you told Kristen that being in a coma was bad, but getting out was good. Remember that?" "Yeah," I remembered saying that. "That's the good in the bad. The bad was that you were hurt. The good was that Mary pulled you out." All right. This was now starting to make sense to me. I thought about what Aimee had just told me, and was still left with a big question. "If the lesson you were learning was finding the good within the bad, shouldn't it work the other way around?" "Huh?" Aimee asked, confused. "If you are to find the good within the bad, shouldn't there be bad surrounding the good?" Aimee shrugged. "It's the old thing you learn as a child. Rain is bad, because it ruins your picnic. Yet at the same time, it is good for the plants that need the water to live. Remember that?" I nodded. "My Aunt Tomeii's advice was to look for the good in the bad. Looking for the bad within the good is a defeatist attitude." I shrugged. It could be defeatist, but the other way could also be seen as overly optimistic. In the military, you learn quickly that it's best to play poker with optimists. Aimee sighed. "I also have a feeling... and it's strong. You can get hurt when you are dreaming... when you're asleep. Being with us can prevent that. I've told you before that we keep the bad things from you." "I have never understood what you meant by that." Aimee shrugged. "You will have to figure that out, I think. I just have a feeling, but it's not a feeling you should ignore. It's not an inconvenience for any of us to sleep with you, and it's just a little precaution." There were a lot of things for me to consider. Mary may have hit me intentionally with her jeep. June is fixated on me, but sleeping with me is repulsive to her. One of the girls should always sleep with me. I shook my head. It was all too much. "Take me home, Aimee. I need to think about this." "You mentioned Dawn before, Jim," Aimee said, not starting up the car yet. "Yes?" "You have been wondering something about her," Aimee said, looking me straight in the eyes. I nodded. "Does Dawn have the gift?" "I don't know, and can't know until she is older," Aimee said. Aimee turned the key in the ignition and did a U-turn to take us back to the shack. The "gift," as Aimee called it, was a burden as well. A classic example of the bad within the good. It made certain people interested in us, for instance. Aimee also mentioned that there were different applications of the gift. Aimee seemed to simply take the gift for granted. Of course, she had thought about the gift for years, ever since she was told about it by her aunt. We drove back home in silence. There were a million questions unanswered in my mind, and a million worries about what would happen. ------- Note: For those that are thinking about emailing me that the lyrics quoted at the top of this chapter are a misquote from the original E.Y. "Yip" Harburg lyrics, please realize that I intentionally quoted them as sung by the late Hawaiian crooner and overall nice guy Izzy Kamakawiwo'ole (and my apologies if I misspelled the singer's name). ------- Chapter 21 "Consider yourself, one of the family!" It was a few days before New Year, and I was in the exercise room, watching Mary and Debbie sparring together. Debbie had wonderful form and looked graceful, but I could tell from the amount of sweat she was generating that she was getting tired out by the workout. Mary, on the other hand, hadn't yet broken a sweat, and wasn't even breathing heavily. June passed by on her way out toward the pool. "Mary's quite talented," she remarked. "She won't tell anybody how good she is," I said. "Want me to find out?" June asked. "Huh?" "You know I work out constantly. I also fight when I get a chance. I even put a punching bag into the cottage so I stay in shape." I looked at June's pleasant topless body. "You have an excellent shape, June." June reddened a bit in embarrassment, but she smiled at me without answering. Debbie called a time out, and went over to the wall where she had a water bottle filled with Gatorade, sipping about half the bottle at once. Mary turned to see June and me at the entrance of the room. "Hi, guys. What's up?" "Would you mind sparring with me after you finish beating up Debbie?" June asked. "Do you practice?" Mary asked. "Yes. I have a bag in the cottage, and when I'm on the big island, there's a dojo that I visit a few times a week." "Sport or self-defense?" "Sport." Mary's eyes twinkled. "That's Debbie's problem. She's self-defense. She knows enough to avoid getting hurt, but has difficulty grasping the concept of offense. Do you compete?" "Only with my instructor, and occasionally with fellow students. I never attended an actual competition, though." "I think you should at least put on a top," Mary said. June was only wearing bikini bottoms, as she had been considering using the pool. "I'll need to find one." Debbie spoke up. "I'd offer you mine, but my top is soaked." I figured that Debbie's offer was in jest, since June's breasts weren't very large. "You still need to work on your assertiveness, Debbie," Mary said. "You need to be a little less willing to hurt your own sister," Debbie retorted. Mary grinned wickedly at Debbie's comment. June had already run out of the room, and came back a few moments later with a bikini top on. "What level do you compete?" June asked. "I don't compete," Mary answered. "Oh." The two girls squared off. They bowed, and then moved back. I knew that June had been assessing Mary's technique as she had watched Mary wipe the floor with Debbie, so June made a tentative jab at Mary, who easily deflected it, adding a jab behind June as June followed through. June easily avoided Mary's jab, and the two were once again facing each other. The initial probes were all similar, June making some sort of move, and Mary reacting. It was like the workouts that I had done with Mary when Debbie had been away, only June's speed was about twice mine. Debbie was watching the pair with me, and we were both in awe. This was nothing like the typical scene with Mary and a partner. June would not allow Mary to dominate her, and Mary seemed to be merely assessing June, not actually attacking. June landed a kick on Mary, who simply shrugged it off, and then rotated her body, forcing June to the ground for a half-second before June propelled herself back up, facing Mary. Mary looked impressed at June, and then, without warning, started her own probe into June's defenses. Now the action was getting quicker, and it almost looked like a choreographed Kung Fu movie running at double speed. June's and Mary's movements were almost impossible for the eye to follow, becoming nearly a blur. For about ten minutes, the girls traded moves. On one occasion, June knocked Mary down, but Mary used the opportunity to roll through June's legs, almost toppling her. June jumped high, and rotated around, but as June was about to unleash a wide kick, Mary caught June's leg and threw her left arm at June's throat that stopped millimeters away. The two girls were now frozen for a second, June on one leg, Mary on two. Mary started to follow through, despite the fact that she had intentionally stopped her hand. June simply ducked backward, executing a back flip that had her up and facing Mary almost immediately. "Jesus!" June exclaimed. Mary just grinned. "You're quite good." June lunged at Mary, and the action got even faster. To a person like me, the moves could only be imagined, as the eye wasn't able to follow the quick movements of both girls at the same time accurately enough. The two girls were throwing harder punches and harder kicks, but neither one landed anything, and neither girl was being knocked down now. After a rather remarkable five minutes of near constant movement, Mary found an opportunity and launched another chop towards June's neck. This one was much faster than the earlier one, and it appeared that Mary was going to kill our chauffeur when Mary suddenly deflected her own arm lower at the last possible millisecond, where she made contact with June's shoulder, knocking the girl down. My jaw dropped, and I felt the urge to run and help June, but Mary was quicker than me. She had winced when she connected with June, and immediately moved down to pick up her partner, breathing heavily. "I'm sorry," Mary said, very upset with herself. "I thought you'd back away from that one." June was breathing heavily. "I was thinking of ducking, actually. If I did so, that would have hit my neck." "Oh, dear," Mary said, fretting over the fallen girl. "Your shoulder is going to bruise." "Mary, can you tell me something?" June asked, her breathing still ragged. "What's that?" "You were being easy on me, weren't you?" Mary simply grinned. "You're better as a partner than Debbie." Mary quickly added, "Sparring partner, anyway." She looked over at Debbie, hoping she hadn't hurt her sister's feelings. "You'd wipe the floor with my instructor in his own dojo," June said. Mary simply shrugged. "He's probably sport as well." "Yes. He has competed and won tournaments." "I wasn't trained to compete." William Voder's words came back to me. "Mary was trained in the military as an assassin, June." "Fuck me!" June said, her eyes wide in amazement. Mary looked at me sharply. "That's not general knowledge, Jim. I doubt it's even in my military files. I know that I never told anybody about my experience in the military!" I shook my head. "That's not a denial, Mary." "May I ask that the three of you keep that information to yourselves?" "We don't keep secrets from Aimee, Mary," I said, adding, "Besides, Aimee already knows." "Aimee knows?" June asked, quite surprised. "That's impossible!" "Why is it impossible?" I asked. June looked confused. "It was Aimee's idea for me to spar with Mary. Did she want to kill me?" From behind me, Aimee answered. "I had no such intention. I merely thought that Mary might be a good instructor for you. I didn't think you'd try to beat Mary when you saw that she was better than you." I turned around, startled by Aimee's presence. "What?" "June is extremely competitive," Aimee said. "I think she has been all her life. I didn't foresee that, and for that I'm sorry." Without another word spoken after her apology, Aimee turned and walked out. The two sparring girls looked at me and then each other, confused. Debbie broke the silence, "Isn't that a big fuck-up?" Totally confused, I turned and ran after Aimee. "Wait up, Aimee!" "Let's go to the beach," Aimee said, not turning around. I picked up the beach blanket and followed Aimee. Aimee picked a secluded spot on the beach, and turned around to face me for the first time since she left the exercise room. "June will be more helpful if Mary trains her." "You want Mary to train June to be an assassin?" "No," Aimee said. "I want Mary to train June to be your bodyguard." "You're serious about having June enter our family." "She's already a part of our extended family," Aimee said. "She needs to become more involved. She is one of us, although I only realized it a few weeks ago." "Why do I need June as my bodyguard?" "June has a fixation on you, much the same as Mary and Debbie," Aimee explained. "It's been building ever since she started staying in the guest house after Mary became pregnant. I saw the fixation and that's when I looked deeper within her and realized that she has a gift, herself. At the same time, once Dawn was born, Mary's focus shifted, very slightly, but it now includes her flesh and blood." "I don't see that. Mary doesn't love me any less." "No, Master," Aimee said, softly. "That's not the case. The difference is that Mary no longer loves just you. It's a mother's instinct, so you shouldn't take it personally. You felt the same thing once your daughter was born." "I love you all, equally," I stated. I was quite sure of my emotions, having thought about them the previous night while lying awake with Debbie passed out and exhausted at my side. "Does that include June?" Aimee asked. I was about to utter a quick denial, but the way Aimee asked that question made me consider my true feelings. I remember the sight of Mary's palm connecting with June's shoulder, June landing on the ground, and the way my heart jumped as June fell onto the exercise mat. I was about to run in and take care of the fallen girl when Mary was already down there. "I guess so," I finally said. "Equally?" "I don't know," I admitted. "It will be difficult for you, because you won't be able to express your love to June the way you express it with us, especially Debbie." "When you say things like this, it makes perfect sense, but when I think about it later, it all seems wrong." Aimee and I just sat on the blanket for a few minutes. Finally, Aimee said, "Consider this. June and Mary are walking with you on this beach. A person aims a gun at you. Both June and Mary will react to the danger to you. I can see that as if it had already happened." I didn't know if I would agree with Aimee, but that woman is rarely wrong about things. I wisely didn't say anything. "On the other hand," Aimee continued, "by the time that same person managed to point a gun at Dawn, Mary would have the attacker dead before June would even realize that there had been any danger." "How is that possible?" "It's the nature of Mary's gift. She can spot danger and know exactly what to do almost before that danger exists. It's a more streamlined version of my gift for seeing trouble in advance. That, combined with her mother's instinct to protect her flesh and blood, would be a deadly combination." "And June?" "June's has a gift that is similar to Mary's, although she doesn't have the years of experience honing her physical skills as deadly as Mary has. That may actually be a good thing. June also has a gift similar to yours." "I don't understand," I said. "You mentioned this the other day, but didn't explain it. What, exactly, is my gift?" "You know it, but you deny it to yourself. The first time we spoke together, I told you what your special gift was, but you have many gifts. Ask yourself what they are. Some of them are obvious, like the ability to communicate that you share with Mary and me, and to a lesser extent, Debbie. You also have that rare capacity to love people fully and without hesitation, and that is a gift as well. Not one of us has any jealousy about you when you are with one of the others, with the obvious exception of Mary when her hormones were influencing her mood swings when she was pregnant. Those, however, are only two of your gifts." I had other gifts? This was news to me. Aimee, however, wouldn't tell me any more. She said, "Jim, you need to know your gifts to be able to know how to use them. You cannot tell a fish that it can fly and have it fly. It has to know it can fly before it will launch itself out of the water." Sometimes, talking with my sweet Aimee can be so fucking aggravating. The two of us kissed for a few moments before we went into the surf. The other three girls, including June, found us about ten minutes later and we all swam for about a half hour. ------- The girls set up a daily schedule for sparring. June was now Mary's main partner, and both Mary and June additionally practiced with Debbie as well, usually after a hard workout together to give Debbie a better chance. Over the next few weeks, I didn't see much difference in either Mary's or June's techniques, but it was quite obvious that June was a much better teacher for Debbie. Debbie was getting more aggressive in her workouts, and she confided in me one night that the reason June was a better teacher was that Debbie didn't see the deadly intent in June's eyes that we all saw in Mary's when she was fighting. I don't mean to imply here that Debbie was any less strong or talented in the martial arts than June or Mary. In fact, when I had the occasion to spar with Debbie after she started working out with June, she quite easily handled me, a big change since last year. The difference was that Debbie had originally been taught to defend herself, and hadn't been taught to be much of an aggressor. June had been taught competitively, and Mary, well, was quite another story. June was teaching Debbie more aggressive moves, and Debbie seemed to take the instructions from June better than from Mary. June and I continued to attend flight school. I now had close to forty hours of flight time, and was only a couple of weeks from being able to earn my pilot's certificate. I would soon be flying solo. June, on the other hand, was about halfway through her flight instructor's course. It was just something else she could put on her resume if she were ever looking for a job, something that I figured would never happen, since Aimee was insisting that June be considered a member of our family. One fine January day, I was talking with June on the way to flight school. "I've got just a couple more weeks to go," I said. June nodded, and continued driving. "What's next?" I asked June. "Should we purchase a Cessna for the family? We could take small trips to Oahu." "You should get instrument certified first," June suggested. "Yeah, my instructor said that, too," I agreed. "He said that not having certification is totally stupid. Unexpected things can happen at any time, especially around the islands, and there's no reason to be ignorant on purpose." "I also sort of imagine you as a skydiver," June said. "You seem to like the thrill of flying, and having the air rush by you as you head toward the earth..." I shuddered. "I was almost stationed in the 82nd," I said. "They have paratroopers there. I felt a bit uneasy about it at the time, and then Mary hit me with a jeep, saving me from having to jump out of planes." June laughed. "And here I am, suggesting you do just that now!" I shrugged. "I'm older, I guess. I still feel like I'm in my twenties, but my body tells me that I'm pushing forty. It's so strange. I can still remember high school like it was yesterday." "For you, it was," June said. "There's also gliders, Jim." "You know, June, you're perceptive," I said. "I think I would like the rush of air against my face, but skydiving seems a bit extreme for me. On the other hand, a speed boat or something like that would be fun..." There was an uneasy silence, and then June said, "Aimee and I had a talk a while back." I sighed. I knew that June and I would have this conversation. "I know." "She told me that I should sleep with you." "She told me the same thing." "I'm not like that," June said. She sounded sad. "I know, June, and I don't want you that way," I assured her. "Then can you tell her to stop pushing me?" "Nobody tells Aimee what to do, June." "It makes me uncomfortable. She says that I'm in love with you." "No she doesn't," I corrected. "Aimee says that I'm your focus. It's not the same thing." "Aimee also wants me to get weapons training from Mary." I sighed. "Aimee wants you to be with me so you can be my bodyguard." "Why do you need a bodyguard?" "Aimee foresees danger. She sees things before they happen." We were getting near the airfield. June said, "Aimee believes in old myths her mother told her." "Her aunt," I again corrected. "And to Aimee, they're not just myths." "It's like ESP or telekinesis. They don't exist." "Aimee doesn't call it ESP, June. To her, the old stories are as real as the two of us sitting here." June simply shrugged. I knew it would soon be time for Aimee, June, and I to have a long talk. ------- In February, Debbie was once again feeling restless. As much as she loved Dawn and the pace of life in the shack, she had an itch that I could see in her eyes every time I saw her. The time we spent in bed was getting more and more physical, Debbie's grip on my body seeming to be a scream for more closeness. One night, when I fell asleep, my mind wandered. It hadn't done this in a while, and I wondered what was going on. It turned out that I shared Debbie's dream with her. Our bodies were still intertwined, but thankfully, Debbie was no longer pulling herself to me. When I started to dream, it had the "other worldly" sensation like my out of body experiences that I had after I woke up after my coma had. It felt eery when I shared the women's dreams. Debbie was a little girl in her dream, about nine or ten years old. She was riding in the back seat of a car. In the front passenger seat were her parents, as I remembered them from a similar dream I shared with Debbie a while back. I remembered this dream. Debbie had it once before. This one was a bit different, though. First, Debbie's age was a bit different than in the previous dream, although I cannot remember if she was older in this one, or younger. Second, the things that happened were different. Debbie's attention was out the window of the car, near the entrance to an amusement park that was on a lake. I could feel the excitement bubbling throughout her body; she had loved these outings with her parents. They happened infrequently enough because her father always had to work, but occasionally they took a long weekend during the summer to visit a favorite area in New England, which they only referred to as "camp." I seemed to get this information from Debbie's mind. My point of view of this dream was dual. Some times, I was watching from a short distance away, where I could see the three of them. At other times, my point of view was from Debbie's perspective. The amusement park was crowded and noisy, as those things go. I could smell the odor of popcorn and hot dogs as the family exited their parked car and went in the entrance. Debbie's favorite ride was the bumper cars, and she took the first right after you entered the park to get there. Her parents teased her about not wanting to go on the ride, but Debbie knew that they were just having fun with her. The line went extraordinarily fast (well, this was a dream!), and soon the three of them were in separate cars and the operator put the ride into motion. Once again, I could actually smell the machine oil and ozone from the ride, and was thinking about the senses that were experienced during dreams when I felt Debbie's car come to an abrupt stop, hitting the side of the car that her father was driving. Debbie's father looked at her in mock shock, telling her that he has a lawyer and she gave him whiplash! Debbie's squeal of laughter and happiness was infectious. Debbie's mother managed to give Debbie's temporarily stopped car a glancing blow in the end as she waved at Debbie. I felt like an intruder in this idyllic setting, and I thought of leaving Debbie to her own dreams. "No! Don't go!" little Debbie wailed. The little girl was definitely reacting to my desire to leave, I could tell. Debbie's father thought she was talking to him. "I just need to drive away, Gorgeous! You'll have another chance at me!" I continued to stay, and watched Debbie have the time of her life with her family. They went on a couple more rides, and I was wondering why Debbie seemed so keen on my experiencing this with her. Debbie's parents led her to a picnic table in some woods, and her father left to purchase some food. When little Debbie was alone with her mother, she said in a conspiratorial tone to her mother, "I know the man that I am going to marry!" "Oh?" asked Debbie's mother, smiling. "And who might that be?" "His name is Jim... just like Dad's!" the little girl said. "Is it, now?" the mother said, still smiling at her daughter. "He's here, but I don't think he wants to come out." "Here in the park?" her mother asked, looking around for any suspicious characters. "No... he's in here," Debbie said, pointing to her heart. This made Debbie's mother smile again. "Ah. Your dream man. The one that's in the army?" "Yes! Yes!" Debbie said, excited. "The one I told you about!" I watched in awe as the little girl described me pretty accurately. Her mother thought that I was just a figment of Debbie's imagination and went along with her. Little Debbie took it in stride, though. Mr. Malen arrived with a tray containing some hot dogs, french fries, and sodas, and carefully placed them on the table. "Debbie was telling me that the man she will marry is here again. Isn't that sweet?" said the mother to the father. Debbie's father smiled at his daughter and handed her a hot dog. "Well, if he's in love with you, Gorgeous, then I know he's a good man. I would truly like to meet this fellow one day." And then there was nothing. The dream was over. Unlike the last time, when the dream seemed to just pause, the image becoming static, I was now looking at blackness. My presence was over the two of our bodies in the Indigo room, with Debbie still holding me. Debbie's face, just barely visible in the dark room, seemed to have a big smile on it. This was just fucking weird. What did this dream mean? Was there any significance to it? I thought long and hard about it for a long time. ------- The entire family noticed Debbie's pensiveness. A few evenings later, I was sitting with June and Debbie playing triple solitaire when Aimee approached us. "Look," I said, reacting to Aimee's presence. "A fourth for hearts!" Aimee smiled. "Actually, I wanted to talk with the three of you. I just finished talking with Mary." "About what?" I asked. "About the three of you taking a trip." "Where?" Debbie asked, her eyes widening. "The east coast, I think," Aimee said. "You should start with the brownstone. It still has most of your father's things in it, and you avoided going there during our last trip. Jim promised you a tour of the Goddess clubs, and most of them are on the east coast, or close to it." "How long?" I asked. "A month." Debbie looked like she was just handed a winning lottery ticket. I winced. I wouldn't mind doing some traveling, but I didn't want to leave Dawn and Mary for such a long period. "No can do," I finally said, making my decision, hoping that this wouldn't hurt Debbie. "Work it out," Aimee said, looking me directly in my eyes. She had that look that told me that her decision was not debatable. I looked back at Aimee. "Two weeks," I said. Debbie looked hopeful again. "Two weeks, twice," Aimee said, immediately. "Come back for a week before finishing your trip." Aimee simply left, having said what she needed to say. Debbie and June both looked at me, expectation on their faces. I shrugged. "I don't make the decisions here. I don't think I ever have." I abandoned the game and went upstairs and saw Mary. "Aimee told me you will be touring with Debbie and June," Mary said. "It'll only be two weeks. Debbie is getting restless." "Aimee said a month." "I talked her into two weeks touring, one week or two back here to recharge, and then maybe another two weeks." Mary raised her eyebrows. "You managed to haggle with Aimee?" "I guess you could call it that." "I think she's right," Mary said, softly. "I'm worried about Debbie." "What's wrong?" I asked. Mary explained. "Debbie started out on her tour to visit all her father's properties as a way of trying to understand her father. We interrupted that. This place isn't really his place. He bought this property on Aimee's suggestion, and left it only partially developed. I suspect he bought it as an eventual gift for Aimee. Aimee was the real mastermind behind the reconstruction of this place." "So?" "Debbie has a journey to complete," Mary said. "At least, that's how Aimee explained it." "A journey?" "Debbie needs you with her, and Aimee won't let you go anywhere without either me or June with you. I want to keep Dawn here now. This is our home." Home. I saw a soft look in Mary's eyes as she said that. I realized that Mary had found her home, finally. She had left her parents a long while back, and the only family she ever had was a sister that is now living in Nova Scotia. I knew this was important to her, and I realized something that Aimee had never told me: Mary would kill to defend Dawn, as her flesh and blood, but she would do no less to defend this little shack. It was her Home--with a capital "H." I smiled at Mary, finally understanding her. "Dawn is the reason I told Aimee 'no.'" "You won't accompany Debbie?" Mary asked, shocked. "Actually, that's not true. It was from that 'no, ' that I managed to haggle Aimee to the two-week idea." "Oh," Mary said. "I never thought to ever say 'no' to Aimee." "It's not an easy thing to say to her." "I'll say," Mary agreed. Then she turned serious. "Aimee explained things to me, and I agree. Debbie needs to bring closure to her situation with her father. Until she does, she will never truly be happy." "Why do I need to go?" I asked. "You are her husband. Next to her father, you are the most important person in her life," Mary explained. "You need to be there for her." I sighed. As I said to Debbie and June, I don't make the decisions, and I doubted that I ever would. ------- Later that same evening, I found Aimee in the atrium with June. They looked up at me as I entered. "Am I interrupting anything?" I asked. "Not really, Jim," Aimee said. June looked at me guiltily. "I was telling Aimee that I didn't believe all that ESP stuff." "Oh, that," I said, smiling, remembering our talk in the flight school parking lot. "June, will you do an experiment for me?" Aimee asked. "What?" Aimee just happened to have a dark purple satin scarf in a pocket of her robe. I think she had this entire thing planned, although I didn't know exactly what she was going to do. "I need you to keep an open mind. Can you put this over your eyes?" "Tie it behind my head?" "Yes." June looked a bit uncomfortable as she did so. "This sounds like a silly magic trick." "Just keep an open mind, June," Aimee said, softly. After a few moments, Aimee said, "Think about this atrium. Think about Jim and I sitting here." I watched as June did so. "OK," June said slowly. "Can you see us?" Aimee asked. "Um..." "Open your eyes. Look at us." June shook her head. "Not with the blindfold on." "Concentrate. Think about the atrium and the three of us." I watched Aimee instruct June for a few minutes, wondering what Aimee had planned. Suddenly, a strange thought occurred to me. "June," I said softly. "Pretend you're on the ceiling looking down on us." "Uh, uh," June said, shaking her head. Something was now telling me that this was important. "Try... try to float up there..." It took about ten minutes, and I kept on giving June some suggestions. I could see that June was trying very hard. "OH!" June suddenly said, startled. "Do you see us?" Aimee asked, finally talking. She had stopped instructing June once I had started. "It's weird!" "All right, June," Aimee continued. "Now move from the atrium into the kitchen. Leave us behind." "Um... yes. I'm moving..." I felt a presence pass through me quickly. As it passed, I could hear June's inner voice go "Whoops!" "That was weird," June said. I thought the same thing, but kept my thoughts to myself. "Ignore the weird feelings," Aimee said. "Move to the kitchen." It took a few moments. "All right. I'm there." "What do you see?" "I see the floor... the refrigerator." "Can you see the counter?" "Yes!" "What's on the counter?" "There's a coffee maker... a toaster... canisters... the oil jars..." "What else?" "Oh! There's a box on the counter." "What kind of box?" "Small... white... I've never seen it before. What is it?" "You tell me," Aimee said. "There's something white under it... a card... it has... my name on it!" "What else?" "There's a red heart on the card... oh!" June shook her head, and quickly untied the scarf. "What was that?" "Your gift," Aimee said. "The box?" "That, too." I didn't know the box had been in the kitchen, but I knew what it was. Aimee and I had gone to Lahaina earlier that week. "What was that box and envelope?" June asked. "Go into the kitchen and look." June shot out of her chair and ran into the kitchen. "It's here!" she shouted. "Bring it to us," Aimee said. June came bouncing back into the atrium, carrying a card and a small jewelry box. "Was that what you saw when you had the blindfold on?" Aimee asked. "Uh, huh." "Have you seen these before?" "No." "The envelope has a red heart on it," I pointed out. "My god!" June said, looking at the envelope as if it were magical. "Open the envelope, June," Aimee directed. June opened the envelope, which contained a greeting card with a picture of a purple orchid. She opened the card, and said, "To June, even though you don't believe." "Open the box," Aimee ordered. June opened the box and gasped. Inside was a platinum ring that was identical to four other rings that I knew about. June had gasped in recognition of that ring. I spoke up. "May I see that?" Reluctantly, June handed the ring to me. By this time, Debbie had quietly arrived, as well as Mary, who had Dawn with her. I think that Aimee may have silently summoned them, or had let them know that this would be happening. I remembered Judge McHenry's words as if they had been written indelibly on my mind. "June, you are my beloved, and you are my friend. With this ring, I join my life with Debbie, Mary, Aimee, and now you!" I placed the ring onto June's right ring finger. We had it sized already and it fit perfectly. I handed my ring to June, and she repeated the vow to all of us, softly. One by one, the three sisters went through a simple ceremony. Each one would give their newest sister a kiss on the lips, then something would be whispered in June's ear, and then there would be a big hug. Finally, it was my turn. I moved over to June, kissed her, and said, "June, we all consider you very special. You indeed have an amazing gift." I hugged June for a long time. ------- After that demonstration in the atrium, I found Aimee alone. "That gift of June's... you intentionally allowed her to discover it in front of me." "Yes." "I remember how you described me when you first met me. I was a person that sleeps, but doesn't wake up. I invade other people's dreams." Aimee nodded. "June shares that gift?" I asked. "The two of you will have to discover your powers," Aimee said. "It is a power that I do not share with you, although I have experienced it with you when I was sharing your mind when you were sleeping. It is a very important power, and it can be very powerful. All I can do is show you the door. If the two of you weren't there, neither June nor you would have figured it out." I kissed Aimee tenderly. Aimee went upstairs into Sunrise, where Debbie and June were waiting for her. The three women slept together that night. Knowing that Aimee was with them, I knew that June's apprehensions about eventually sleeping with me would be soothed--sleeping with Aimee is almost always the most relaxing thing in the world. I spent my last night before I left in the Orchid room with Mary and Dawn. We waited until our daughter was asleep before we made passionate love. I could see in Mary's eyes that she was going to miss us, but I knew that she would be very safe with Aimee around. Before I fell asleep, I heard Mary's voice within my head. "Please welcome June officially into the family while you're gone." This was going to be interesting. Aimee, and now Mary, wanted me to sleep with a person that was totally repulsed by the actual idea of sleeping with me. I didn't deny Mary her request, nor did I agree to it. I just sighed, and wondered how I get mixed up in these convoluted feminine conspiracies. ------- Chapter 22 "Our love is still special, let's take our chance and fly away somewhere alone." The three of us flew to the big island. June allowed me to fly the Cessna we had rented most of the way. From there, we took a cab and dropped June off at her apartment so she could say good-bye to Mely. Debbie and I went to a nearby hotel. An hour after we checked in, Mely called and asked us if we wanted to visit a nearby blues club. Debbie and I readily agreed, and the two girls picked us up. At the club, I found myself in an interesting situation. During the months since Mary's pregnancy, I had mostly avoided alcohol. I had never been much of a drinker, but I occasionally found myself enjoying the fruity drinks that Debbie and Aimee favored. Even after Dawn was born, Mary didn't drink very much, not wanting to transfer any alcohol to Dawn via her breast milk. As a result, I had completely stopped drinking. Now, I found myself in a club that made its profits from the serving of drinks. I knew that Debbie wasn't a heavy drinker, so I decided to just order the same things she did, pacing myself to her consumption. By the end of the evening, I found myself enjoying the music and the company of my three female companions. Our flight was scheduled to leave around nine in the morning, and Mely drove us to the airport. At the check-in counter, I picked up the tickets that Aimee had reserved for us, and I was surprised when I saw that June and I would be sitting together, with Debbie across the aisle from us. I knew this was Aimee's doing; I think she wanted June and me to get closer to each other. Aimee wasn't always the most subtle person in the world. June gave Mely a passionate kiss good-bye, and both girls disregarded any reactions from tourists that noticed them. I think June may have told her girl friend that we knew about their relationship and that it didn't matter to us. For all I knew, this could have been a test by Mely to ascertain whether it was the truth or not. June and I made small talk in the airplane. She told me more about her Olympic tryouts, and how much she enjoyed working for us. I gave her as much of an unexpurgated version of the story about our family as I could within the lack of privacy the first class cabin afforded. "You know, June, as a member of our family, you don't really need to be working for us," I pointed out. June smiled. "I know, but I love driving. None of you ever really treated me as just a chauffeur or as just the help. You've given Mely and me wonderful places to live, and when we travel, our accommodations are first rate. I get to fly occasionally, and I have a lot of spare time to do whatever I want. Since Dawn was born, I've spent most of my time living in the cottage on your property and you all never hesitated treating me as a member of the family." I smiled. "We just made it official, the other day. I'm glad you enjoy doing what you do and being with us." "Aimee told me that I could have the Lime room upstairs, but I told her I like the relative privacy of the cottage." I was a bit surprised at this news. The Lime room was supposed to be my changing room, although I only slept in it about once a month, usually with Debbie, who seemed to have a desire never to sleep in the same room two days in a row. I was already working with Debbie on an idea of splitting up the larger rooms into slightly smaller bedrooms to accommodate our growing family, now that Dawn and June were members. The women were already working out new color schemes for the new rooms. Since it was obvious that Debbie and perhaps Aimee might have one or more children, we wanted each child to be able to have their own room. We planned a set of smaller rooms with shared bathrooms for use as children's rooms. The main house was more than big enough to house a large family, although if we had too many children, we might attract the unwanted attention of family services. June turned a bit more serious. "Jim, Aimee told me why your wedding ceremony in San Francisco was secret. Mely and I hadn't understood completely at the time, and even now, I haven't told her, since I now understand about the family. You know that Mely is more than just a coworker, don't you?" "Yes," I said, knowing that June and Mely were lovers. "I was pretty sure you knew that. You don't judge us; none of you do." "We don't judge you because it's not our place," I explained. "Your relationships are yours personally, and don't concern me unless I am personally involved, and that would be by your own choice. I never asked about or even cared what you did on your last night in Makena, nor what you did last night with Mely." June frowned. "It's not that I don't like you, Jim..." "I understand," I said, calmly. "Actually, I know you like me, and probably even more than that. I have no problem with that. Let's take it slow. Since Aimee told you that the four of us consider ourselves, maybe not married, but totally committed to one another, you are now part of that. That commitment does not require you to be a bed partner to any of us, but it allows you to do so, but only if you and your desired partner or partners agree." June blushed. "Aimee is so... exotic..." June breathed. "She's like Mely?" June's blush deepened. "No. Mely is different. We just connected one of the times that Debbie had us staying in a hotel room, and we've been casual lovers ever since. Mely isn't like me; she likes boys, too. She had a fiance a while back. Now that I'm living in Maui, Mely occasionally finds other partners, male and female, but she says that she never brings them to the condo out of respect for me. I, on the other hand, have been using my exercises and my fingers to keep me busy." "I've seen you sparring with Mary," I said, ignoring June's comment about her fingers. "I've only seen a mark on you that first time. You must be getting better." "Mary is teaching me to throw knives." "Really?" I hadn't been aware of the specifics of June's weapons training except when I occasionally tagged along to the shooting range with Mary and June, mostly just to ensure that I could still shoot pistols accurately enough. "Yes. We have a target range behind the cottage." "I'm glad you didn't carry any knives in your carry-on bags. It would have been embarrassing getting through the metal detector." "No, but I have a couple of nice throwing knives in my checked baggage." I shuddered. Mary was seriously turning June into a killer. I didn't think this was a good idea, but apparently, my thoughts on the matter weren't solicited by the people that made the decisions. Actually, there was a part of me that liked the idea of June--and possible even Debbie and Aimee--learning basic weapons usage. Aimee seemed to have an idea that either I or the family would need a bodyguard, and I have never known any of Aimee's premonitions to be wrong. Even if we never had to use June's training, there was little harm in her learning. If we ever really needed it, it would be worth having it. The problem, of course, was the deadly seriousness that Mary had in these matters. ------- After arriving at JFK airport in New York, we found that the airline had misplaced one of my bags. I sighed, but figured that it could be worse; it could have been one of Debbie's bags. As a result, I had a lot of shirts--quite a few Hawaiian ones, which would be out of place in New York in the winter--and no pants aside from the slacks I was wearing. Debbie gave the airline the address of Malen Associates so they could deliver my bag, when and if it would ever be found. Once we arrived at the brownstone, Debbie's melancholy was palpable. "This place is spooky," June whispered to me. I would have to explain to June about Debbie's gift some other time. Instead, I simply reassured her. "It's all right. This was where Debbie's father lived." The place was neater than I had expected. It appeared that Charles Penet had kept up the housekeeping for the place, even though James Malen was no longer using it. Pictures of Debbie were all over the house, including one that looked pretty recent. She was posing with a young man, whose identity I didn't know. There weren't any pictures of James Malen to be found. I had wished that I could see one to see if the image I had of him from my dreams matched. I knew that I could have satisfied my curiosity about how he looked by simply rooting around in Debbie's mind, but I had stopped doing that as a matter of course, once I realized that Debbie wasn't able to do the same to me. There were four bedrooms, and Debbie took one of the smaller ones. The room that Debbie picked had a feminine feel to it, and I realized that this might have been Debbie's own room at some point in her life. June, on the other hand, took another bedroom. I didn't know how Debbie would feel if I took her father's master bedroom, so I took the other bedroom, which didn't have much in it other than a desk, a small dresser, and a queen sized bed. "The guest room suits you," Debbie said in the doorway as I put my suitcase down. "I didn't think you'd want me to use your father's room." "It's difficult, Jim." "I understand." Debbie left me to do my unpacking alone. I had completed that chore and was sitting on the bed when I heard a scream from Debbie. I rushed out of the room and found Debbie's face, white as a ghost, with a sheet of paper in her hand. "What is it?" June asked, breathlessly, having arrived about ten seconds before I got there. June had a hunting knife in her hand at the ready. "It's a letter addressed to me," Debbie said. "My father wrote it!" "What does it say?" June asked. I had a feeling about its contents. After all, Aimee had warned the man that the flight he was about to take was doomed. ------- Dear Debbie, If you are reading this letter, then I am probably no longer walking this earth. I have few regrets, though. I have lived a gifted life. My one regret is that my work has kept the two of us apart. Even if you don't know it, I have been keeping track of you, my dear. You have always been one of the most important things in my life, and I must say you have done your father proud. If it is possible in the afterlife, I will continue to watch over you. Even so, I would suggest you engage the services of a very gifted individual, a Miss Aimee Porter, the lovely Asian [sic] associate who works for Malen Associates. I have also enclosed a business card for your Uncle William, who is an excellent investigator, who can locate her for you, if she no longer works for Malen Associates or your Uncle Charles. You will find Aimee to be a very bright and special individual, and I am sure that the two of you will become fast friends. There are hundreds of things that I would love to tell you, but I just don't have enough time to do this, but I must say that you are a very special and important person, and not only to me. I have left everything that I own to you, which is a pretty big fortune. You should keep Malen Associates as well, as a company to manage your money. Uncle Charles has indicated that he'd be happy to manage your holdings so that you will never need to worry about money again. There are a couple of people that I want you to meet. One of them lives in my apartment complex in San Diego. Her name is Mary Cadley, and she is staying in apartment three. She can introduce you to a remarkable young man. Do not misjudge these two people. Their lives may seem tragic, but I know that there will be a happy ending, and you can be a wonderful part of it. Always remember that there will be many people to look over you and ensure your happiness for the rest of your life. Aimee, and Uncle Charles, and even Uncle William are only three of them. Remember me with affection and also remember that I have always loved you and wanted the best for you in life. Finally, this is the moment that I must say good-bye to you. It has been a wonderful life that has allowed me to see all the beautiful things I have seen. Your mother and you were the most wonderful people that I could ever dream of knowing. I know you are probably saddened by my passing, but I promise you that you will find happiness. Keep your heart open. Your loving father, James ------- If there was ever any doubt that Debbie was an emotional transmitter, being anywhere near that apartment would have convinced the most skeptical observer. June looked at me questioningly. I didn't answer June, but moved over to Debbie and hugged her tightly. I entered Debbie's mind, just to send waves of love to her. We were embracing for a minute or so, when I opened my eyes, and indicated to June to join us. She did so, hesitatingly, and she also hugged Debbie. Many minutes passed, and eventually I felt Debbie's sadness start to melt away. ------- Later on, in my room, June confronted me. "What was all that about?" June demanded. "The letter in the den?" "That and those weird feelings I keep getting from this place." "Those feelings aren't from this place," I answered. "Well, not directly at least." June looked confused, and waited for me to continue. "Remember when Aimee showed you your gift?" June nodded. "You mean seeing the box in the kitchen when I was blindfolded?" "Yes," I said. "Debbie has a similar gift. When she feels a strong emotion, other people feel it. It's sort of the opposite of ESP, since it's not a perception on her part, but on other people's part. Living with Debbie, I've become very sensitive to it. I told you about Debbie and her father on the plane, right?" "Yes. Aimee also told me that story before she met you, although she wasn't as detailed." "Debbie's trip right now is for her to discover her father. Her father seems to have known she would come here, and he left her that letter." "According to that letter, Mary must have known Debbie's father. Aimee never told me that." "Actually, it's the other way around. Debbie's father knew of Mary," I explained. "Mary apparently met Debbie by coincidence when Debbie and Aimee were touring her father's California properties. I think Mary knew that Debbie was her landlord, and only talked with her to be reassured that Mary's rent wouldn't increase. Debbie's father gave Mary a very good price on her rent." "How is Mary's life tragic?" "I know you know the story about how Mary and I met." "Oh!" June said, finally putting the pieces together. "But why would Debbie think Mary's life was tragic? You came out of your coma, after all." "I think I was still in a coma when James Malen died. He didn't know that when Debbie met me, I would have awakened from my coma, so he thought that Mary would still be visiting me in the hospital every day. As a matter of fact, a few days after Mary and Debbie met, Debbie met me, and we all became involved with each other, adding Aimee a little bit later." "How did James Malen know all this?" "Aimee warned James Malen that his flight was doomed. I think he wrote this letter to tell Debbie where her future was. I think he may have had his own gift." "This is very weird." I laughed. "Tell me about it." Debbie appeared in the doorway. "What's up, you two?" "I was explaining some things to June." "Isn't it spooky that Dad told me to visit Mary?" "I think there were a lot of circumstances that were pushing all of us together," I said. "Think about it. Despite Aimee warning him about his flight, he took it anyway. Aimee told me a story about her aunt, which she warned against walking to the store. On the way, her aunt saw a child in the street about to be hit by a car, and ran out and saved the boy, but got hit herself and died. Aimee said that her aunt was teaching her a lesson that day, about finding the good in the bad." "What does Aimee's aunt have to do with my father?" Debbie asked. "Aimee says to think of the good that happened from the bad event. After your father died, you met Aimee, and through Aimee, you met June. Somehow, you then managed to meet Mary and me, but even if that hadn't happened then, you would have eventually read your father's letter and met Mary anyway. Your father's death, as tragic as it was, seems to be the event that allowed all that to happen." "As much as I love all of you, I would give it all up to have my father back," Debbie said, softly. "I know, my little Transmitter," I said, hugging her tightly. "If I could bring your father back, I would do so in a New York minute. It's not possible, though. Think about what your father wrote. 'There will be many people to look over you and ensure your happiness for the rest of your life.' I make you this solemn promise, Debbie: I will do everything I humanly can to live up to your father's words. You know as well as I do that he wanted us to meet and to be together. All five of us... six, if you count Dawn." Debbie thought a moment. "I realized that he knew about Mary from what Mr. Voder said to us that day. I didn't know that Daddy had really intended that this all happen." "I feel honored to have been one of the people he chose for you." Debbie sniffed. "It sounds like Daddy was planning my entire life." "No," I said. "Look at it this way: you found Mary and me on your own. Remember what I told you about when I first met Mary? I told her that our getting together was in the stars. I think it's something like fate. Maybe if your father didn't die, we might still have met, or maybe not. Who knows?" Debbie shook her head. "I've heard Aimee talk that way. I keep telling her that if free will exists, then predestination can't exist." I laughed. "That sounds like a college philosophy course!" "Maybe," Debbie allowed. "I'm not so sure, now." "Keep your mind open, my special Transmitter." June said, "Jim told me why he calls you a Transmitter, Debbie. This is all very new to me, and very strange. I also don't know what to believe." Debbie hugged June. "Thank you, June. Sometimes, with Mary, Jim, and Aimee freely accepting this stuff, I feel left out." "I don't freely accept it, Debbie," I said. "However, if you've taken Philosophy, then you're familiar with the principle of Occam's Razor. So far, everything points to Aimee's interpretations." "With one exception," June said. "What's that?" I asked, surprised. "The common denominator is Aimee," June explained. "She knew Debbie's father. She may have known about Mary and Jim, if Debbie's father did. What if Debbie's father told Aimee to take her to San Diego?" "No," Debbie said. "At that point in time, Aimee was very reserved. Aimee had originally planned to move back to Hawaii after my dad died. She was feeling homesick, so I told her that I'd build up the place in Maui if she went with me on a tour of my father's properties throughout the country. Then we'd visit Maui, I'd give her the property, and she'd help me find another assistant. We spent about eight months in Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, and then Los Angeles, before we got to San Diego. Aimee wasn't even staying with me in San Diego. She insisted that the only apartment that was available in the complex was too small for both of us, so she stayed at a Days Inn a few blocks away." "I remember," June said. "Mely and I were at that hotel for a day before we went back to Los Angeles." Debbie's eyes went misty. "I was in that apartment, when I could feel the two of them making love. I mean Mary and Jim. I could actually feel them. Something in my heart told me that I needed to be a part of it, and I used my pass-key to come into their apartment..." I nodded. "I remember that, too. It was like I knew what was happening, but at the same time, it was like it wasn't me. One moment, I was myself, the next moment, I was Mary, and another moment, I was Debbie." "Aimee thought I fell in love with Jim the moment I met." "Didn't you?" I asked, confused. "No," Debbie answered. "I fell in love with Mary." June's jaw dropped. "You fell in love with Mary?" This was interesting to me. The infallible Aimee, wrong? "Yes," Debbie admitted. "Mary was in love with him... I mean, I knew that Jim was her only reason for living. I think she still feels that same way, although she seems even more fixated on Dawn, now. Have you see the way she hovers over Dawn? Anyway, I was confused at the time, until something inside me told me that the only way I could have Mary was to love Jim. It went against everything I ever believed, a girl loving a girl, and being in a multiple partner relationship. I knew, somehow, that Mary would know if my love for Jim wasn't true. Aimee and I discussed it one night, and then it became clearer to me. Aimee wanted desperately to be a part of what we all had, but Jim said 'no.'" "Wow!" I said, simply amazed. "I wish I had known all this at the time. I was very confused myself." "It really took a while for everything to work out," Debbie said. "Aimee, I think, was the first to feel comfortable, and she talked with all of us, and things started to fall into place." June looked unconvinced. "So, Aimee could still be the common denominator." I didn't know how to answer that. ------- I slept with Debbie in her room that night. Our lovemaking was passionate and explosive, Debbie reaching orgasm after orgasm before I finally achieved my own release. We spent the rest of the night simply holding each other. Debbie woke me up, kissing me profusely. "What's up, Miss Radio?" I asked. "Thank you for last night," Debbie sighed, smiling. "You never have to thank me for making love to you," I said. "I'm willing to make love to you until my body gives out." "No," Debbie said. "I really needed last night. It was the first moment that I was in this apartment that I wasn't feeling sadness. I was ecstatic, and I loved it!" "I'm glad I was able to help out," I grinned. "You explained yesterday that Daddy's death allowed us to get together. At first, I felt that it was a bad trade and I hadn't been consulted. Last night reminded me what our relationship really is. I've always loved Mary, but you make love to me freely and completely. I feel love radiating out of you the way you say I that I'm a transmitter, but I know with you, it's just from you to me. When you kiss me, you put your entire being into it. I told you yesterday that I actually fell in love with Mary, and even so, when we make love, it is like I am the only person as far as you are concerned. Do you know what I mean?" I shook my head. I was confused. Debbie sighed. "When I was traveling in California before I met you, I slept around. I know that AIDS is dangerous, but I didn't give a fuck. My daddy died and I didn't care what I did with my life. I must have fucked dozens of guys." "I know, you've told me this before..." "Let me finish," Debbie said. "Then I met the two of you. You were making love to Mary, and I envied her the way she felt. I felt you penetrating into her, how Mary was willing to give you everything, and I also felt your feelings and emotions. They were intense! And then, suddenly, somehow, I was part of it, and I felt the same intensity from you, and Mary. I envied Mary's consuming passion, and for some reason, I had to have Mary. Despite the intensity that I felt from you, I have to admit that it scared the hell out of me. I decided that it was Mary I loved, instead. She seemed to feel the same way, and we made love in the bathroom, and then a few times when you weren't around. She was as intense as she had been with you. Mary, however, would never leave you. I could feel that. I decided to play you along, since I felt that having a good fuck around wasn't a bad side benefit, but I realized that Mary would be able to tell if I was just going through the motions. So, I went out of my way to make you as happy as I could, and in doing so, I found that I really loved you." I interrupted Debbie with a kiss. Debbie kissed me back, but still had to get the rest of her confession off her chest. "You've let me, as well as Mary and Aimee, have our own desires. If I wanted to sleep with Mary, you'd simply sleep with Aimee. I've never met somebody so understanding--maybe Aimee, but never a guy!" "Debbie, that's not..." Debbie wouldn't be interrupted. "That day when Aimee got mad at you, I thought we were doomed. I was sure that Aimee would leave, and Mary would be angry at me and hate me. Aimee, however, spent nearly a dozen hours making love with me then. I mean, she went out of her way to get me to the point where it was difficult to walk. I don't know if she ever had been alone with a woman before, but she made it the most exquisite time of my life. I actually forgot about Mary and you at one point. And you know what? Neither Aimee or I spoke a word to each other during the entire time!" Debbie paused, and I waited for her to continue. Finally, Debbie said, "Aimee called you on the phone, and to my surprise, she seemed pissed at you even more--it was amazing! Despite that, we still met you later, and I knew from the moment that I saw you... I actually felt the love you felt for Mary, for Aimee, and most of all, for me. You gave Aimee that special corsage, and I thought, 'What a wonderful guy!' Aimee's entire attitude changed. Despite the fact that I had more orgasms than I ever had that day with Aimee, we all slept together that night, and it was like everything changed, but it also didn't change. We made love together, and it was no longer important who I was touching, or who was touching me. I felt we had become more than a foursome... into a family." I smiled. "I felt the same way that night." "Last night, you reminded me how much I have invested in our family. There was nobody else in our bed except the two of us, and when I needed you to be assertive, you did so. When I wanted you to be softer, you just held me. Then it hit me: We no longer 'perform sex, ' Jim; We no longer 'make love.' I used to think so, but it's more than that. It's much more simple: We love. When I'm with you, we just love! That's it, plain and simple." I thought about Debbie's words for a long while. Finally, a light bulb went on over my head. "You know, I think it's one thing that William or your father never suspected. Empaths, by definition, feel emotions. How else would an Empath make love, if not with raw emotion? I think that you feel that, Debbie. When I'm with you in bed, I let you feel my love and my ecstasy, and you do the same to me. It's a whole new concept. I like your term: We love." Debbie sighed. "Tonight, you will have to teach June." I shook my head vigorously. "I will do no such thing, Debbie! June is a virgin, and wants to remain so until she dies. I know this for a fact." Debbie shook her head. "I just spent a half hour explaining about how making love is more than just the physical act of sex. There's ecstasy, but I feel that ecstasy with Aimee and Mary as well as with you. Neither one of them has your male equipment, Jim!" "Oh," I said, finally understanding. I thought about what Debbie had just discovered. I had known some of this, but the way she put it into words made perfect sense to me. Finally, I smiled at Debbie. "Tonight, the two of us will teach June." "We'll use the master bedroom," Debbie said. "Last night, you exorcised the sadness from this place." I smiled and gave Debbie a long kiss. I could feel her radiate her pleasure, and I knew that Debbie was doing this on purpose. Sure enough, it was enough to bring June the voyeur to the doorway. I felt June's presence, and without opening my eyes, I pulled away from Debbie's lips for a moment to say, "Join us in a kiss, sister." I said that using a firm commanding tone, just as Aimee had used with June on Christmas day. From June's response that day, I knew that she was a submissive deep down, even more so than Aimee. June kissed me on the cheek. About two minutes later, I turned from Debbie to kiss June full on the lips, penetrating her lips with my tongue. I said nothing, but my kiss promised everything, and June moaned deeply as she started feeling the strong wave of emotions. Debbie rolled out of the bed to allow June and I better access to each other. I opened my eyes and saw June's eyes were already open. I broke the kiss and saw the pleading in her eyes. She was asking for everything--almost. Did I tell you that her left eye is green and the right one brown? June was an amazing person on a whole bunch of levels. I blinked, and June nodded in response. Having gained permission, I kissed June again, and this time I entered her mind. She was currently thinking of her past lovers, her desires, and her confused emotions about me. I saw what I had earlier expected: she was a lesbian. She was also a virgin, by the definition that no male had ever penetrated her. She mostly avoided the female toys that her occasional partners sometimes used. I also saw promise as well. June didn't hate men, she just didn't associate the gender with sexual gratification, mostly based on her first experiences as an adolescent. I could "fix" that, but who am I to play God? June's sexuality was part of what made June her own person. It was not within me to turn a tiger into a vegetarian just because I wanted it that way. Inside her mind, I promised her that I would not be the one to ever take her virginity. Next, I just radiated love directly from my mind to June's. Finally, I broke the kiss, and left June laying on the bed. She was panting. I got out of bed, nude, my erection so hard that it hurt. June's eyes were wide as she looked at me. "Oh, my," she said, softly. I'm not sure if June's comment was because of our kiss, or of the sight of my cock. It didn't matter to me. I wished I had a robe, mostly because of the chilly air, but it, too, was a victim of the airline's baggage claim system. As I walked out of the room, I paused, and turned around. I mustered the most commanding voice I could manage. "You're sleeping with us tonight in the master bedroom." I left the room with a confused submissive in Debbie's bed. ------- I entered the kitchen and found that Debbie had left a note explaining that she was going to pick up some coffee cake and coffee from a nearby deli. I smiled, and went back to my room and got dressed, wearing the same slacks that I wore the other day. I hoped that the airline would find my missing bag, but I figured that I would need to purchase some new pants and some other essentials that day, even if they found my luggage. As I left my room, I could hear June grunting in Debbie's room. I looked into the room, and saw the sheet that June pulled over herself moving up and down as her hand caressed her pleasure center. I entered her mind again, and when I felt her orgasm approach, I said, "Tell me who you are thinking about!" June reddened in embarrassment, but was too far along to stop her pleasure. "Y-you..." she grunted, and then she cried softly into her pillow. Debbie had arrived, and I could smell the coffee. "Where's June?" "Your room, masturbating." "You're cruel." "It was her choice. Do you really think I'm cruel?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "Not really," Debbie admitted. "You're wonderful!" I think I blushed as I took a piece of coffee cake. Debbie was incredulous. "Aimee told me that June was submissive, but I couldn't believe that she came over and kissed you. We were both naked in my bed, and she came over just because you told her to do so." "I've made a solemn promise to her that I will never take her virginity," I told Debbie. Debbie's reaction was shock. "What? Why?" "I saw it in her mind, Debbie," I said. "She's a lesbian, although she's not a man-hater. She doesn't associate men with sexuality. I won't change her attitude, nor will I force myself into her, because the only way a cock will enter her will be by force. I will personally kill the owner of that cock if June or Mary don't beat me to it." Debbie didn't respond, but I knew that she was confused. ------- I had always wanted to see Central Park. The brownstone we were staying at was on Central Park West, an upscale neighborhood. Debbie told us that she knew her way around Central Park, having played there as a child a few times when she visited her father. Once outside, I realized that we needed to find a place where I could get a parka. Despite the fact it was warm for a February, about thirty degrees, I had spent quite a lot of time in Hawaii in a more moderate climate, and apparently, my blood had thinned. The sweater that survived the airline's mishandling was too thin to be of real help. The cab driver that picked us up just happened to know a place to get a good parka, and we got there in record time. Once we got to the park, I saw that there was snow on the ground, and people were mostly walking on the foot paths. Debbie showed me most of the sights, and relived some earlier memories with the two of us. We went off the path, trudging into snow into a copse of trees. There, June pointed to a tree about ten yards away. I looked at the tree, and then I saw a knife sticking into its trunk, dead center from our direction. I looked at June, who had a big smile on her face as she retrieved her weapon. "New York has laws concerning concealed weapons," I told June. "They would have to find the weapon before they could arrest me." "Throwing a knife in a public park this size isn't a very intelligent thing to do," I answered. Once again, I shuddered. June had told me that Mary had been teaching her to throw knives, and here she was, primed and ready to use her education. Her accuracy looked deadly. "June?" I asked. "Yes?" "Don't be too quick to kill somebody," I said. "Sometimes, you can make your point just by getting somebody's attention. There may be times to kill, but that should be the last resort." June looked at me, and then retrieved the knife she had just thrown and she showed it to me. I had expected something like a survival knife that I had seen years when I was in the army, but June's looked like a cross between that and a chef's knife. The blade was long and sharp and looked like it could do a lot of damage to somebody from just looking at it. Debbie visibly shivered when she saw June's knife. She looked around, thinking that a policeman would be coming over any second. Grinning, June returned her knife to the holster behind her back. "The secret to throwing a knife is to find your most accurate distance and throw to it. Accuracy isn't that important for soft targets, Mary says." "Soft targets?" Debbie repeated. "She means humans," I explained. Debbie made a grimace at that explanation. "Animals can be soft targets, too," June said, seeing Debbie's reaction. "Just don't rely on a single knife to stop a larger animal." I didn't think June's effort helped Debbie's mind at all. "We'll remember that," I said to June, wryly. Debbie suggested that we all get back onto the main path. Despite the reputation that Central Park has as a dangerous spot, I mostly just saw people having fun, and even an outdoor ice skating rink. During rest of our time in New York, June, occasionally with Debbie and me accompanying her, would jog/run through the park after sunrise. New York City probably has more restaurants than some states have people. It's one place that people seem to be expected to eat out all the time. Debbie loved all the exotic Asian restaurants available, and we ended up at a Thai restaurant for dinner. I was getting used to the enjoyable cuisine, thanks mostly to the influence of Aimee and Debbie, and June also seemed to enjoy her meal as well. ------- Once we got home, I kissed Debbie, thanking her for a wonderful meal. Then I kissed June as well. When I finished kissing June, I said in a stern voice, "June, I want you to go to your room, get a robe and a new pair of panties and put them on the big dresser in the master bedroom. Then, I want you to go to the bathroom, shower, and then report to the master bedroom, completely nude." Without hesitation, June obeyed. "I've seen you order Aimee around, but June has her beat," Debbie commented. "When have you seen me order Aimee?" I asked. "Sometimes, I watch you and Aimee when you think I'm in the sack with Mary. Aimee usually knows, but you are usually too focused on whatever you're doing, and never seem to notice." I shrugged. "All right, Harem Girl," I said to Debbie, using one of my favorite cute names for Aimee. "Get your ass into the bedroom, and if you're not naked and ready for me, I'll paddle you!" I accompanied this with a playful smack on her ass. "Ooh!" Debbie squealed playfully, running to the bedroom. I went into my room, passing the bathroom where I heard a shower running. I tried the door quietly and found it locked. I quickly went back to the kitchen and found a tool drawer and returned and used a small screwdriver to unlock the bathroom door. Opening the door, I yelled, "You are never to close the bathroom door again!" I could see from June's reaction that my voice had scared her a bit. "And no masturbating until you get to the bedroom. Be quick about it!" I knew that June was a submissive. When I played sex games with Aimee, it was usually for fun. With June, however, there was something more involved. Deep down, she had a need to be commanded and even occasionally punished. I would like to state for the record that I think that a man that hits a woman deserves to be castrated slowly with a butter knife dipped in rattlesnake venom. That being said, I knew that there was a difference between a sexual spanking that June actually enjoyed, and a male beating a helpless female no matter what the reason. Despite that I had little taste for punishing people, when it came to June, I knew that I would have to make an exception. I knew that I would have to deal with my reluctance when the time came, and the time was coming soon. Inside the master bedroom, Debbie was nude, just as I had asked. I softly explained to Debbie about June's needs, but apparently Aimee had already beaten me to it. I told Debbie that I would make it up to her tomorrow night when we slept together again. "No, Jim," Debbie said. "Tomorrow night, you will be alone with June. You have to get her past her taboos and not let her continue to be afraid of you." I sighed. Debbie, of course, was perfectly correct. "Then I'll do you tomorrow afternoon. I don't like waiting." Debbie kissed me tenderly. A kiss from one of my wives was better than nearly anything else in the world. There was the inherent closeness of our faces, and the knowledge that if we open our eyes, we'll see the object of our desires. There were also plenty of other things that could be done during a kiss, many lovely things to feel, to caress, to stimulate, to probe. I was going to learn about June tonight. Debbie would be there to make the process easier on her nerves, because I could tell, deep down, that June was very nervous. Despite my playing around with Aimee, I could only go by my instincts about what June needed. So far, I hadn't been wrong, but I knew that I was no sexual expert, despite Debbie's earlier comments to me. Whatever the testimony that Mary, Aimee, and Debbie would give you, I knew that my only knowledge of sex was directly correlated to what those three girls wanted or needed and the two or three girls I had bedded before I joined the army--and I don't believe that I was a great lover then. June was a new part of my life, and she was much different than any of the other women I had ever met. Unlike the submission play acting that Aimee and I did, June really was a true submissive. My knowledge of domination and submission was seriously lacking. I knew that June occasionally needed to be punished, but would she be the kind of submissive that would intentionally misbehave just so she would be punished? I didn't picture myself to be able to act that way, especially in the presence of Debbie. However, Debbie was extremely physical in bed, and she also seemed to know instinctively what I needed and could easily communicate her own needs to her partner or partners. As I said, having Debbie here would ensure that I didn't make any stupid mistakes, or if I did so, they wouldn't be mistakes for long. June entered the room, a towel around her hair. Her hands were at her sides, freely displaying her body. Her face looked apprehensive, and my heart went out to the poor girl. Debbie and I stared at June, and she stared back at us. The impasse was broken after a couple of minutes when June finally spoke. "Do you wish me to masturbate here?" I nodded at a chair at the side of the room. "Sit there and show us what you did under the sheets in Debbie's room this morning." June nodded, and sat down, placing her legs on either side of the chair, exposing her pink wetness to the two of us. Slowly, June placed her right hand between her legs, and started rubbing up and down her slit. Her fingers were positioned so that we had an excellent view; it was obvious that June had been ordered to do this before, and had been taught how to maximize our viewing pleasure. The fingers on her left hand encircled her breast and she started pinching her nipple. I have seen women masturbate before, but June seemed to be an expert in doing so in front of an audience. She moaned and groaned like a porn actress, adding to our enjoyment of the lewd show she was putting on before us. "Am I allowed to come, Master?" June finally asked. "Why should I allow you to come?" I asked, smiling. "Please?" Debbie picked up on this. "June, what will you do for your master if he allows you to come?" "I... I will suck your cock, Master!" I was surprised that June would making that suggestion herself. I had not expected that this would happen our first night together. "Have you sucked a man's cock before?" Debbie asked, before I could grant June permission. "N-no," June answered. "Then what makes you think you will be good enough to give pleasure to my man?" "I... I don't know," June said, her finger moving around her clit faster and faster. I could tell she was close. I was glad that Debbie was helping here. I don't know if I could torture June this way. "Make him a better offer," Debbie ordered. Without hesitation, June asked, "Mistress Debbie, will you teach me how to suck my Master's cock?" If I had my body turned any closer toward Debbie, the rapid erection that I experienced would have knocked her off the king sized bed. "Yes, June," Debbie answered. "You may now come," I told June, knowing she was approaching her limit. "Aaah..." June cried. Debbie and I watched June's orgasm wash over her body. June's hand was still moving furiously on her clit. As June's orgasm finally started to wane, Debbie called out, "You were not given permission for a multiple orgasm, Slave!" Disappointment showed on June's face. "May I stop masturbating, then?" June asked. Debbie was about to answer, but I interrupted. "June," I answered. "I want you to know that my personal opinion of masturbation is that it is a lonely experience. I will never again order you to do what you have just done. You do not need to masturbate, unless you find yourself alone with none of us around. If anybody in our family can help it, there should always be somebody around to help you with your pleasure, and sharing your pleasure is always much more preferable and beautiful than doing it alone." Both Debbie and June looked at me. There was amazement in June's eyes. She leaped up from her chair, and jumped onto the bed, tackling me. "Thank you, Master!" she said, planting kisses all over my face. ------- "Yes," Debbie was saying. "Suck on it, just like Dawn sucking on Mary's nipple. Take it out of your mouth every once in a while, and kiss the tip and lick up and down the shaft." "It's much bigger than Mary's nipple," June giggled, licking at the juncture between where the knob of my dick meets the shaft, creating a very lovely sensation of bliss. I winced. "Not so much teeth, dear," Debbie said, seeing my reaction. "Just a little to let him know that you have him under control is fine," Debbie added wickedly. I glared at Debbie. "Sowwy," June said, my dick still in her mouth, and definitely not sounding like she meant it. Debbie stuck her tongue out at me and returned her attention to June. "I was about to say, Dawn is much tinier than you. Think about how huge Mary's engorged nipple is compared to Dawn's size. Relatively speaking, they're about the same as you and him. Now, suck it again, and this time, try to see if you can take him deeper." I felt like a practice dummy at a sex education class, and I was enjoying every minute of it, despite Debbie's mischievousness. Debbie was getting off at her student's effort to do a first class job on her first male organ. "It's amazing that Jim's is the first cock you ever saw live," Debbie said. "You are so submissive, I would have expected some bull dyke to have forced you to suck or fuck a complete stranger." June moved off from her sucking to answer, licking my shaft as she had been instructed. "I would never take orders from such a person," June answered. "It's like I can tell when a person would be... nice... but... bossy at the same time." "You see it in Aimee," Debbie said. June nodded, my shaft once again in her mouth. "You see it in Debbie and I," I offered. Once again, another lovely nod. I kissed Debbie, a signal to her that I was approaching my limit. "And Mary," Debbie continued. "Keep sucking now, June, you are doing very well." June moved her head up and down, and I felt the start of that familiar sensation. "In a few moments, June, Jim will have his orgasm. I want you to expect that and not panic. If you don't want to taste it, move your face away now, but continue licking the side of the shaft--he's really sensitive on the bottom, actually." June did not move away, but continued sucking, but I felt her tongue moving against the bottom of my shaft. The feeling was marvelous. "All right," Debbie said, "Now, when he comes, don't try to swallow his semen, but try to keep it all in your mouth. It's difficult, I know, but I want you... I order you... to do it. Start moving a tiny bit faster, Jim likes that..." With a bit of a heave, I pushed my groin upward, feeling the hydraulics of my shaft start to pump my seed into June's willing mouth. I shot a few times, and June kept her mouth on me, sucking. Finally, I sighed, and moved my groin down. "One more last suck, June," Debbie said. I winced in advance as June's suction was felt down my shaft. There was a devilish sparkle in Debbie's eye, as she knew that the action she directed June to just do was something I preferred to avoid. However, June's suction wasn't as strong as the Mary's or Debbie's when they playfully did this to me, and the result was actually quite nice, surprising me. "Nicely done, Harem Girl," Debbie said. "Now, I want you to keep Jim's seed in your mouth, and kiss me so we can share it together." June immediately obeyed, and a part of my mind sent an alarm signal. Before I could protest, though, the two girls were exchanging my semen between them. Oh, dear, I thought to myself. Debbie is going to be so disappointed that she won't be able to eat June tonight. Of course, I would never allow anything that had my semen in it to touch June's virginal cunt. I wasn't sure if June was on birth control, or even if she were in a fertile part of her cycle, and even though I could get that information from her brain, I would still refuse to allow it. June would need to learn a new reality of having sex with consequences when it came to being with me. I knew that she trusted us implicitly, but we had to show her that we held her trust in the highest regard. We also needed to demonstrate to her how different things would need to be. As Debbie and June continued their lip lock, I felt recharged enough to return June's favor. I moved myself so that I was between June's legs, and started to lick. At first, I used the generic moves that I knew that Mary, Debbie, and Aimee all liked. As I started to sense June's reactions, I tailored my approach to what she seemed to prefer. Unlike the other women, June seemed to require more stimulation with my fingers in addition to my tongue, and she seemed to enjoy only minor finger penetration compared to the others. The reason, of course, was obvious, once you thought it out. Avoiding sex with men made this part of a woman's stimulation a bit more unique and important. Despite the fact June disliked complete penetration, she still liked a little penetration, just not too much. As I realized that she enjoyed the stimulations between her legs, I was willing to oblige, in baby steps. June was tight, but I could easily squeeze two fingers into her without stretching her too much, and as I dazzled her clitoris with my tongue, I could feel her reaction. For variety, I entered Debbie's mind, and felt how June's reaction to my tongue and fingers was being received by Debbie. Before I left Debbie's mind, I told her the decision that I had made about Debbie eating out June with her sperm-infested mouth. I felt Debbie's disappointment, but it quickly changed to relief when she realized that I would have even considered the possibility of June's pregnancy. I licked June through two orgasms, and June asked Debbie each time before she came if she had permission. It was cute and totally unlike the submission games that Aimee and I had played. After her second orgasm on my tongue, Debbie took over with her fingers. June tried to get into a sixty-nine position with her, but I pulled her head toward mine. "Not tonight, June. You can do it tomorrow morning, but not tonight." "Why?" June asked, no longer the submissive. "It's for your protection," I said, soothingly. "It's not a punishment." "I'll trust you," June said, moving closer and kissing me. Instead of answering, I just sent a torrent of love via our mind connection, and June nearly melted. With her fingers, Debbie pulled three more orgasms from June, with June asking me for permission before each one. June then collapsed in a totally contented heap. "This is wonderful!" June sighed. As I could see that June was very close to exhaustion, I asked June which side of the bed she preferred to use. "Either one," June answered. "Which one is your knife on?" I asked, mostly in jest. "There's a knife on either nightstand; I didn't know which side I'd use." I figured that I would have to stop making fun about June acting as my bodyguard. She actually took it seriously and the reality was very sobering. "Get your panties on and come back. Whatever side you pick is your side tonight." June jumped up happily, although confused about why I wanted her dressed. When she returned on my right side, I whispered to her. "How do you prefer to sleep when you spend the night with a partner?" "I usually sleep underneath my partner, our legs such that our crotches are touching each other's legs." "I thought so," I smiled. "You will sleep on top, tonight, since I'm much heavier than you. You are wearing panties because I get the feeling that you might be a grinder, and I don't want any accidental penetration." I felt Debbie's pride in my words to June. June eagerly took her place on my leg, her crotch just above my knee. She kissed me, and hugged me, and very soon, she was breathing regularly. Her small breasts were pressed nicely against my right side as her body was draped over mine. I had been correct. June was a grinder. Even in sleep, her motions hadn't completely stopped. I giggled, and Debbie, having heard the conversation and seeing June's ass bounce up and down, giggled with me. "That looks like fun, Jim," Debbie said, quietly. "Do you have room for a second?" I spent the night with two beautiful women happily humping my legs all night. It was distracting at first, but I quickly learned to enjoy it. Debbie apparently had forgotten to turn up the thermostat when we got to the apartment, so having the two warm bodies on mine made up for the lack of heat. Of course, with all that grinding, mostly coming from June's side, there was no lack of sexual heat, either. It was a most enjoyable night. ------- Chapter 23 "All I want is to see you smile, if it takes just a little while." The next morning, I woke up with my morning erection and a powerful urge to pee. While Debbie had managed to roll off me last night, June was still very much on top of me, and every once in a while, she was still humping my leg. I groaned. I knew that I was responsible for my situation. Carefully, I pushed June slightly until she rolled onto her side. I edged out of the bed between the two women, and went to take care of my morning routine. The cold winter air made my urge to pee more insistent. Looking back as I left the bedroom, I saw the two women were a bit closer together, nearly touching. I noticed with some amusement that June was still dry humping a rolled-up bunch of comforter on the bed occasionally. Once I got out of the bathroom, I looked for and finally found the thermostat and set it to a more reasonable temperature. I then went into the kitchen and found, much to my relief, a can of Coca Cola. On the way back into the bedroom, I put my hand on the radiator, and felt the start of warmth there. Back in the bedroom, I went to Debbie's side of the bed. I figured that June was a pretty heavy sleeper, especially if she allowed me to crawl out from underneath her without her waking up at all. I knew Debbie's predilection for deep sleep, so I took the cold can and touched Debbie's exposed rib cage with it. Startled, Debbie sprung up. "Hey!" "Shh," I said, putting my finger to my lips. "June's still asleep. Drink this." "What? Coke?" "Yeah. It should kill any sperm cells that might still be camping out in your mouth." "Huh?" "Simple chemistry, or is it biology? I'm pretty sure that sperm cells cannot survive in saliva too long--too acid. However, in Coke, there's even more acid that may kill any that might still be left. In addition, there's more sugar in Coke than there is in the cells. I think that makes the sperm cells explode, or something like that. I remember somebody once told me that girls used to sometimes use Coca Cola as cheap spermicidal douches. Even if it's just folklore, it will help clean out your mouth just by rinsing it out." Debbie made a face. "Couldn't you have found Diet Coke?" I shook my head. "No sugar in it, Radio." "Scope?" Debbie asked, hopefully. "Come on, Debbie. I already have this open!" Debbie giggled and took another swallow. The other thing I had hoped was that the caffeine in Coke would be enough to wake Debbie up. She was a notorious for wanting to sleep late. It was about a half hour before sunrise, and I knew that June wanted to jog in the park this morning. "Swish it in your mouth, darling." Debbie did so. After she swallowed her mouthful, she whispered, "I hope you don't want me to gargle with it." I giggled, and had her take another large sip. Finally, I pointed to June. "Attack!" Debbie did so--with gusto. I watched the two go at a good sixty-nine before leaving them to get us some breakfast. ------- I jogged with June in Central Park that morning. She had purchased a map of the park the previous day, and mapped out a track that must have been close to twenty kilometers, about twice as much as I had been doing when I was in Maui. I knew that June constantly ran, sometimes the 10-K course I mapped out with Mary, and a lot of time on the lava sand of the beaches near our compound. I got winded early, and decided to take a breather at a place near a playground that had statues representing characters from the story "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." June continued to jog. I noticed, however, that while she did so, she was now jogging in a loop that made sure that I was never out of her sight for more than a few seconds. I sighed, understanding her intentions, and studied the statues. There were a few other people around, but nobody was paying me any particular attention. After a half hour, June jogged back toward me, and we decided to stroll back on a roundabout path back to the point where we entered the park. "Jim?" June asked me as we were walking. "Yes?" "Why wouldn't you allow Debbie to do me last night? I know you were watching us this morning." I stopped walking and decided to talk with her. I had anticipated this particular talk. "June, you are young and you are trusting. Up until now, sex has been playful for you, and that's perfectly fine. However, you are now doing sexual things with me--a male. There are repercussions of such things. For instance, when you were sucking me, Debbie told you to share my semen with her, remember?" "Yes..." "Well, that was a mistake on her part. I had no way to know if you were on the pill. If she were to 'do you, ' as you put it, then there would have been danger of my semen impregnating you." "Oh..." June said, not knowing what to say. "You haven't had sex with a boy," I continued. "You've never lost any sleep about a missed period, June. Mary and Debbie and most heterosexual girls have had that experience." "I do know that feeling, Jim," June said. "Believe me. I had plenty of girl friends and I knew that worry. So are you suggesting that I go on the pill?" "It would just be safer if you did." "When I'm training or exercising regularly, I usually miss periods," June commented. "Huh?" This was a phenomenon that I wasn't familiar with. "When I really push myself, like when I'm practicing for a marathon, I skip periods like crazy. It's normal, and it never bothered me before. You don't see too many highly competitive woman athletes getting pregnant, at least when they are in training." I shrugged, but continued my train of thought. "There's always a chance you might not be fertile, but it's usually better to be safe than sorry. Remember the old adage about what they call women that use the rhythm method? Mothers." "I guess you're right," June said, smiling. "Do you suggest I find a gynecologist in the city?" I smiled. There were probably quite a few. "Find one that you'd be comfortable with." "Oh, Daddy!" June said, exasperated. She gave me a playful punch on the shoulder. "I've had a gynecologist before!" I laughed. "I'm sorry, June. You're about Debbie's age, but I think of you as being naive, at least with men. You're not a teenager--not at all. Sometimes, I just think of you that way. Please forgive me." "OK," June said, nodding. "Just remember that I'm not a kid." I leered at June's delectable body in her shorts and body shirt and said to myself, "You've got that right, sister!" Out loud, however, I changed the subject, "How can you wear just that when it's twenty degrees out?" "Running actually makes me sweat, although just standing here does get me a bit cold." I could now see the points of June's small breasts pushing against her shirt. June finally saw where my attention was and shook her head. "You men are all alike!" "Is that so?" I asked. June laughed. "No, Jim," she said, giving me a kiss on my cheek. "You're one in a trillion!" We started walking again. "That many, huh?" A few seconds past, and I said, "You said that you've trained for a marathon?" "Yes," June answered. "I did Boston and New York City before I started working for Debbie." "How did you do?" I asked. "I don't have the endurance of a true marathon runner," June admitted. "I can do well for about thirty kilometers, but marathons are usually forty or so. I'm really more of a sprinter. My coach thought that running marathons could help, but I still didn't qualify for the Olympics." "The reason I was asking was that I think there are a couple of marathons in Hawaii," I said. "I remember hearing about one in Maui last year, and I think there's also one in Honolulu." I could see the gears turning in June's head. "I'd imagine that it would be kind of hot for a marathon in Hawaii. Forty kilometers and change in Hawaii?" "It still might be worth looking into." We made small talk on the way back to Debbie's. Back at the brownstone, I called Makena. "Aloha kakahiaka nui! Malen/Montgomery family compound," Aimee's voice answered after a few rings. Aimee's voice sounded sleepy. From the three word salutation, I realized that I had forgotten about the time differential. I think she said, "Good early morning." "Ooh!" I said, immediately apologetic. "Sorry for the early call, Aimee. I wasn't thinking time zones." "It's all right, Master," Aimee replied. "I had to get up to answer the phone anyway." I frowned. I was calling about the marathon thing, which wasn't anything earth-shaking at the moment. Aimee noticed the pause. "Please, Master. What's up?" I sighed. "Do you know anything about the Maui marathon?" Aimee answered immediately. "It's next month. Are you thinking of running, or are you asking for June?" "June, actually," I answered. "She thought the climate may be too hot for a long run. She's not really an endurance runner." "The marathon starts in the morning. A little later than now, maybe four or five in the morning." I sighed again when Aimee reminded me about the time. "That's basically the reason why I called. How is everybody at the shack?" "Dawn and Mary were sleeping when I left the Orchid Room just now. We all miss the three of you terribly." "I'll let you get back to sleep, Aimee. We'll call later at a more decent hour when we can talk to everybody." I searched my memory, trying to come up with the proper phrase. "Aloha kaua?" Aimee giggled. "Your pronunciation needs work!" I tried the one I had been saving for a special occasion. "A'ohe loa'a i ka hana a ke aloha!" "Kamaha'o!" exclaimed Aimee, quite surprised. "Where did you learn that?" Aimee sounded very impressed. I was happy that Aimee appreciated the effort I put in. "I asked the stewardess on the flight from Oahu for something that might impress you." "Do you know what it means?" Aimee asked. "I asked her for something that was like 'I will love you forever.'" "It's close," Aimee said, softly giggling. "What you said was 'love ignores distance' and refers to being miles away. It's a phrase that a flight attendant might learn. It's a very good alternative." I shrugged. At least I tried. "It's still appropriate, then?" "It's perfect, Master." "Mahalo!" I said, thanking Aimee. I wasn't totally ignorant of conversational Hawaiian. It's that I only knew stock phrases. "'A'ole pilikia," Aimee answered, saying "you're welcome" in return. Aimee spoke the language nearly fluently. As I said, I only picked up conversational fragments of the language in the year or so that I had been on the islands. The notable exception to that was the "love ignores distance" phrase that I had practiced. "Aloha wau ia 'oe, Precious!" I said, telling Aimee I loved her. "I've told you many times, 'precious' is 'mea makamae.'" "Aloha wau ia 'oe, Mea makamae!" I repeated. Aimee laughed heartily and answered, "Mau loa aloha au ia' oe, E ku'u haku!" Aimee hung up the phone before I could ask her what her last phrase meant, but I had a pretty good idea what she said. There was one phrase that Aimee told me over and over in English, and I figured this was the same one in Hawaiian. The fact that "aloha" and "ia' oe" were both part of the phrase meant that I had a pretty good chance that I was correct, except that "aloha" had so many meanings in that lovely language. I hung up the phone as Debbie entered the room. "Who were you talking to?" "Aimee," I said. "What's 'Mea makamae' mean?" Debbie asked, having heard the tail end of the conversation. "'Precious, '" I translated. "Aimee gave me that word. I call her 'Precious' all the time, and she finally gave me the translation." I truly hoped that I'd remember that. Debbie suddenly realized, "It's just after three in the morning there!" "Yeah," I said, sighing. "Aimee reminded me. I didn't think." "Aimee probably took it with good humor," Debbie said. "Actually, I gave her that phrase that I had practiced." "Did she like it?" I nodded. "It means 'love ignores distance.' It wasn't what I intended, but it's still great. It shocked Aimee." "That's definitely a first. I didn't think anybody could shock Aimee." "Oh yeah?" I said, shaking my head. "Remember Falls Church?" Debbie winced again. "Oh, yeah." June entered the room and I told her about the marathon information I got from Aimee. "It's three thirty in Hawaii, Jim!" June scolded me. I sighed. "Love ignores distance," I quoted. "It seems to also ignore the time," Debbie pointed out. I laughed. "That was what I had been hoping for that phrase to mean, actually. 'A'ohe loa'a i ka hana a ke aloha, ' indeed." Debbie told us that she had called some old friends and got information on a cruise around Manhattan called the Circle Line Cruise. It was a three-hour cruise that would depart around noon, with all the tourist sites pointed out to us. We did that cruise. We all learned about the typical sights that the tourists usually come to Manhattan to see, including the Statue of Liberty, World Trade Center, Chrysler Building (one of the most beautiful buildings I'd seen), as well as a strange skyscraper that had no windows at all. ------- That night was June's first time solo with me. She was an obedient submissive, and we did a sixty-nine where she sucked me to a very pleasing orgasm, while my tongue and fingers brought her to a nice one as well. As I was working toward her second orgasm, June made her usual request to me. "Master, may I come?" I got a wicked idea when I wondered what would happen if I denied her request. "Um... no," I said, continuing to thrust my fingers in an out of her cunt while licking mercilessly around her clit. After another couple of minutes, June's squirming increased. "Master... please... may I come?" Once again, I denied June's request. June took my spent cock into her mouth and started sucking with vigor. I could feel her grunting as she attempted to hold back her release. After another couple minutes where I could actually feel June's torture, she repeated her request. "OK," I finally answered. "You may come." June came. Actually, that was an understatement. June CAME. All capital letters. She hit the big one. Even though her mouth was still sucking me, she nearly screamed her release. She continued to go off, sucking, sucking... By this time, I was erect again. June was coming down from her tumultuous high, and took her mouth off my cock, breathing heavily. "I thought... I thought... guys only do it once," June said. "Huh?" I didn't understand June's reference. "You're hard again," June said. "A lovely and wholesome beauty like yours has an effect on a guy. Plus, you moan like a porn star." "It's like you might have another orgasm," June said, still in awe. "I can. It depends on the amount of stimulation I receive." "I thought... guys could only do it, maybe once a day, usually less." "You've been misinformed," I said, smiling again at June's naivete. "May I suck you, Master? I'd like to taste your sperm again." How could I refuse such a request? ------- After our oral acrobatics that evening, I had June put on her panties again. I watched her dress and there was absolutely no shyness from her as she did so. I decided that she had a trace of exhibitionist in her. June mounted my right leg as she did the previous night. I was going to teach her a new position tonight. "June, move your body further up mine," I whispered. "Like this?" June moved her body a few inches up. "No, straddle my groin, but keep my cock behind you." June adjusted herself so that she was sitting on my lower belly. "Now, lay down on top of me, and move back down until my cock is touching your ass." "Like this?" June asked. "Yeah, that should be safe," I reassured the lovely girl. June scooched down until she got into the position I wanted. "Now, get to sleep," I ordered. "Hmmm," June said, moving her crotch up and down, and enjoying the feeling of my cock, which was now once again getting erect, rubbing against her slit. I remembered that Aimee slept with me in this position recently, and nothing had ever erupted, so to speak. However, June was more of a grinder than Aimee. Despite my reassurances to June, something could have happened. I prayed to whatever deity that Aimee prays to that this wouldn't happen tonight. ------- June kept me erect all night. However, her movements weren't constant, and I hoped that I would be able to avoid the one thing I didn't want to happen. At one point in the middle of the night, however, her motions were making me feel terribly amorous. I kissed June, thrusting my tongue into her mouth. Instinctively, she sucked my tongue in, and I cupped my hands on her ass, squeezing her as her ass moved up and down every two or three minutes. My desire was increasing, and June continued kissing me. I was very sure that she wasn't quite awake. One of my weaknesses is kissing somebody while I was fucking her. It was almost as intense as a full emotional connection with my partner. I wasn't actually fucking June, but the sensations were pretty close. I realized that my actions were now putting June in danger. I thought I saw June's eyes flutter, and her hips started moving up and down more often. I moved my lips away from June. "Are you awake?" I whispered. "Yes," June answered. "If you keep that up, it's going to go off." "Three times?" June seemed incredulous. Apparently, I was changing her whole world view of males. She moved her hips even faster. "Yes," I said, clenching my teeth. "Let me know when you're about to go off." "I'm about to go off!" I warned her. June laughed. "I mean, within a few seconds." "I mean, within a few seconds!" "Really?" "Are you going to stay there?" I was holding myself back, and it was a nearly impossible situation for me. "You're about to go off?" June repeated, continuing her agonizing friction. "Yes!" "Do you want me to stop rubbing you?" "Yes!" "Do you really want me to stop rubbing you?" This was sheer torture. "YES! YES! FUCK YES!" June gave me a quick peck, and then rolled off me. She quickly took her hand and started pumping my cock. I finally let go, and I released a torrent of sperm. I shot again, and again... it was like I could hardly stop shooting. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity while June continued pumping my still-erect cock, I had no more to give. That didn't stop my cock from continuing to jerk spasmodically in June's hands. I was breathing heavily from the exertion. "Are you all right?" June asked, innocently. "Um... yeah..." "Next time, you'll think twice before telling me that I cannot orgasm!" Huh? Was this June's way of getting even with me? "You fucking bitch!" I said, not feeling a smidgen of animosity. June giggled. "Nope. I don't fuck, remember?" "The bed is a mess, you cock tease!" June hesitated a few moments. "You're not angry, are you?" "No, June," I said, slowly. "I'm sorry I called you names. I guess I deserved that." "I told you the other night, I like somebody whose bossy, but nice. Not allowing me an orgasm isn't nice." "I'll remember that. That was fucking intense, June." "Really? When you wouldn't let me get off, it was intense for me, also!" "Really. I never felt it that strongly before. It was like all my nerves were centered on your fingers moving up and down my shaft. It was almost torture." There was a pause. "I'm sorry." "No, June. It was... educational." "I'm teaching you something?" June giggled. "I guess." "Well, you just behave yourself, Mister," June said. "Or I'll tell your other three companions your weakness." I shook my head. "It won't work with them," I said. "The reason I was holding it in was because I didn't want to have an orgasm so close to your pussy." This struck June as funny. She laughed! "What's so funny?" I demanded. June's only response was more laughter. It took nearly ten minutes before June finally settled down. "What was that all about?" I asked. "You! You..." June started laughing again. I waited. I don't like people laughing at me, but June was so cute that I couldn't really get angry at her. "I... I... Oh, shit!" June laughed a bit more. I waited. Patience is my middle name. Finally, June caught her breath. "When you explained the dangers of sex with you, I got to thinking. I talked with Debbie, and she and I agreed..." June started laughing again. "Agreed to what?" I said. "I have on a maxi-pad. Even if you came, you'd probably need a drill attachment to get through it!" My jaw dropped. Here I was, trying to protect sweet, innocent June, and she had already been more prepared than I had thought! The humor of the situation finally hit me. I started laughing, which triggered June again. About five minutes later, Debbie came into the room. Apparently, our levity had aroused Debbie from her deep slumber. "What's up, you guys?" she demanded, her voice dripping of sleep. This set off a new round of laughter. Neither June nor I could talk. "You guys are fucking idiots," Debbie said, going back to her room. We laughed until we both fell asleep in each other's arms. ------- The next morning, June explained what happened to Debbie over breakfast with glee. Debbie had the fucking nerve to actually anticipate the punch line. "And you were wearing a pad, right?" Debbie laughed. June started laughing again. "Yeah. I mean..." The two girls erupted in laughter at my expense. "That's Jim, our knight in shining armor," Debbie said. "Yeah," June agreed. "He said it was intense." Debbie looked at June. "It's next to impossible for a man to hold back an orgasm like that, you know," Debbie said, seriously. "They don't have the same muscles like we do, and their orgasms are designed to deliver their seed. Unlike a girl who can stop pissing at any moment, if a guy tried to do so, he'd make a mess as he failed. Guys just don't have the right muscles to prevent stuff going through their penises. It's amazing that Jim had so much self-control." "Really?" June asked, wide-eyed. I shrugged. It had really been difficult. All the time, I had kept thinking about my shooting over June and impregnating her. "It was like being in one of those flash storms," June said, sighing. "Huh?" Debbie asked. "You know... when it rains with those big drops?" June said. "Jim kept shooting in the air. This morning, when I got up, I really expected to see his stuff on the ceiling!" "Sir Cum-a-Lot," Debbie said. "Yeah!" June giggled. "Three times last night. Sir Cum-Cum-Cum!" "We finally have pet names for him!" Debbie said. I knew I was never going to live this down. After breakfast, I decided to give Debbie the good rogering that I had promised her the day before. June asked permission to watch, and actually delayed her morning run to do so. Neither Debbie nor I have problems with an audience, but we decided that June should also be a part of it if she was going to hang around. I told June to get Debbie warmed up--fingers only!--and she did so, happily. Watching June and Debbie got me worked up, and by the time June pronounced Debbie ready, I was at full attention. I moved June's hand onto my cock, and she started pumping me. I shook my head, and indicated that she was to insert me into Debbie. "Really?" June breathed. I simply nodded my head. June guided me, with only one missed attempt, into Debbie's warm, wet quim. I had my knees inside Debbie's legs, spreading her wide, and giving June an excellent view. Of course, this position prevented me from actually laying on top of Debbie, which also prevented me from kissing her, which, as I explained before, really got me off. However, this wasn't entirely about me. I kept moving June's head closer and closer to the action, until I could feel her breath on my shaft. "Lick us," I ordered June, softly. Continuing to slowly pump in and out, I started to feel June's tongue licking my shaft as I pumped into Debbie, and as I pulled out, June would redirect her tongue onto Debbie's clit. Debbie's insides turned ever wetter with the extra stimulation that June was providing. I moved June's naked body so that she was now in a sixty-nine position with her crotch over Debbie's mouth. I heard and felt June's loud "porn star" moans as Debbie licked her. I had hoped that I would last about a half hour or so, especially after the workout with June the previous night, but it wasn't meant to be. I started spurting my fourth orgasm in about twelve hours into Debbie, and I pushed as far as I could into Debbie's vagina. From the workout the previous night, I didn't have much sperm to deliver to Debbie. This was a quick fuck, just a couple of spurts, and I found myself exhausted. Breathing heavily, I pulled out of Debbie, and felt June's mouth suck my softening prick, most likely tasting the combined vintages of Debbie and myself. I felt June's tongue moving back and forth as she sucked me, just as Debbie had taught her; June was a star pupil. I rolled off of Debbie, and June and Debbie resumed their sixty-nine. It took about fifteen minutes for the two to reach a mutual orgasm (and I didn't make the mistake of not giving June permission to come this time!). By the time the two girls were finished, I had caught my breath. The two girls whispered together, and then June and Debbie got off the bed. "Going for a run?" I asked June. I was too weary to do any exercise that day. "After I get my spanking," June answered. "Huh?" June looked at Debbie, who nodded at her. "You both told me how much I tortured you last night. I didn't know that I had hurt you, but that's no defense. Somebody that hurts her Master, even unintentionally, should get spanked." "June," I said, shaking my head. "I had one of the most intense..." "Jim!" Debbie said, sternly. "What?" I asked. "June has a need. As somebody we both know would probably tell you, 'Do your duty to June.'" Debbie wanted me to spank June! Was she fucking nuts? I then saw the look on June's face. There were tears in her eyes--real tears! This wasn't a game to her. "I'm sorry, Master. Please punish me and tell me you forgive me." "I don't need to..." Debbie once again cut me off. "Jim! Shut the fuck up!" I closed my mouth. Debbie took charge. "June, bend over the bed," she ordered. June did as she was told. She bent over, and put her chin on her folded hands. She was actually sniffing. "Jim, you will spank her..." Debbie looked at June. "Five times. And don't hold back." I sent a message into Debbie's mind. "I don't need to spank June. I can't hurt a defenseless girl." "She's the least defenseless girl I've ever met," was Debbie's mental response. "This isn't about your needs, it's about hers. June needs this. Can't you fucking see it?" I sighed. I closed my eyes, and told myself that I was the lowest form of life on the planet. I held my hand out. Debbie sent me one final message into my mind. Debbie was not very good at mind to mind communications, and I realized the effort she put in to do this. "If you hold back, she will know it, and you will have undone every good thing you've done for her." My last option having been taken away from me, I moved my hand down. There was a sickening SLAP as I heard my palm make contact. June did not cry out. She maybe sniffed a bit more, but made no other noise. "That's one," Debbie said. I looked at June's butt. One cheek was starting to turn red. The sight sickened me. I tried to convince myself that it hurt me more than it hurt her. I'm not a convincing liar. I moved my hand up and down quickly. SLAP! "That's two," Debbie said, softly. "June, you keep count now." I decided to aim for June's other cheek this time to keep any one area from getting all the slaps. SLAP! "Three, Master!" June said. I could almost hear pain in her voice, but there was something else. There was strength in those two words as well. SLAP! "Four, Master!" I aimed my last slap a bit lower and more to the center than the others. SLAP! "Five, Master!" June jumped up from the bed and hugged me. "Master, do you forgive me, now?" I was about to tell June that I was never angry at her, but at that moment, I saw a look in Debbie's eyes that told me that I should be very, very careful with what I said right now. "I forgive you, June," I said, simply, quoting from a script that nobody had ever figured to give to me. June responded by kissing my face all over. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Master!" June has a very cute way of kissing somebody when she was excited. She would kiss them all over their face over and over and over again, like a little puppy. In retrospect, I think June's "puppy kisses" won me over that day. I knew that there was no way in the world that June could be faking her happiness and excitement when she did that, and I no longer thought of myself as lower than pond scum for spanking her. As I said, Aimee may act submissive, but June's submissiveness seemed to define a part of her. You could say that June was the first real submissive that I had ever met. I was lucky that Debbie had been around to guide me through these shark infested waters. In retrospect, I realize something else now. When I first encountered Mary and Debbie together, they used to call me "Master" all the time. It had always bothered me because I had no idea what my "hold" over the two girls were at the time. On the other hand, I never really had any problem with Aimee calling me that. After Aimee was an established member of our family, the other two girls used the term very rarely, mostly to get my attention. After June became established as an equal member of the family, neither Debbie nor Mary ever called me that again. It was as if doing so would be some sort of mockery of June's true need. ------- Over dinner that night, Debbie made a very casual and (to me) surprising announcement. "By the way, I've been off my pills for six weeks now." "Huh?" I asked. "I know you don't shoot blanks," Debbie said. "I hope I get as lucky as Mary did. She caught practically the first time!" Debbie? Off her birth control pills? Something was wrong with Debbie's statement. "That can't be. I've seen your pills in the bathroom, and I seriously doubt that they are your father's." "Those are mine," June said. "When did you find a gynecologist?" I demanded. With the exception of the one hour run that June took in the late morning, we had all been together. "Aimee took me to that family's in Maui a couple of months before we left. She told me at the time that even if I never have sex with a man, the pills could be a good thing if something bad happened, like rape." "Rape? You?" I asked. June looked daggers at me. "Rape is a reality for every woman, no matter what their sexual orientation is. I doubt that even I would be able to beat off a dozen determined men. When Aimee makes such a suggestion, it's not something I'd take lightly." I immediately backed off. "I understand. My surprise was that you were on birth control. I just didn't know that." June smiled. "I've been on them for a few weeks now. I think Aimee had an ulterior motive at the time; she may have been planning to get me fully into the family for a while." "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked. "You were so sweet, trying to keep me from getting pregnant. The doctor said it would take a month before I should do risky things, but I didn't really think about it at the time, thinking that my lifestyle didn't include much risk." I turned to Debbie. "Did you know about June's pills?" Debbie nodded. June looked at me, concerned. "You aren't angry, are you, Jim?" I shook my head. "No, June. I'm not angry, but now I really see the joke was on me this morning." It was definitely a plot. The girls were all trying to make me look like an idiot. ------- After dinner that night, both girls wanted to relax at a bar. The Goddess Club in New York City was over by Times Square, but when Debbie called, she found that they were sold out for the evening and on Sunday as well. Instead, we found a bar that wasn't too smoky and seemed quiet enough. Even so, it was crowded, being a Saturday evening. I drank a light beer, and nursed it. Debbie had some fruity cocktail that I didn't recognize, and June had white wine. Nature called, and I went to look for the men's room. It was small, but at least there wasn't a line, unlike the room for the women. I made a mental note to let the girls know about the line in the event that nature called to them later. When I came back, it turned out that June and Debbie had a companion. "I'm back," I said to the two girls. Both girls looked at me, relieved. "Whose thish?" the guy slurred. Oh, fuck. A drunk. "He's our date," Debbie answered. "There's two of you. He'll have to share." "No, thanks," Debbie said. Debbie's comments weren't making the situation any easier. I saw that others were noticing what was happening where we were, but nobody offered any help. "Excuse me," I said. "Shut up, you homo!" the guy shouted. I sighed. Here I was, accompanying two women. I think that the evidence actually pointed to the contrary. I decided that to point this out to the drunk would be useless. I hated dealing with drunks. I decided that the best course of action was a retreat. I signaled the two girls that it might be a good time to leave. "Hey! Where youse going?" the guy demanded. The drunk then made one move that he would regret. He raised a fist in my direction. June was quicker than a politician changing his mind. She reached over and with a single twist, the guy flew upward and ended on the ground. June then knelt on the guy's chest and put her fist on the guy's throat. "You weren't thinking of hitting my BOY FRIEND, were you?" The entire bar went quiet. June's face made it certain to everybody that she was quite willing to push down on the guy's windpipe. A bouncer had already seen what was happening and finally reached us. "I'm sorry I didn't notice this sooner," he apologized. "I'm sorry this had to happen," I answered. "Miss, you can get up off this bozo." June looked up and saw me nod. "Sorry," she mumbled. "No problem," the bouncer said. The bouncer picked up the drunk by his collar and pulled him to his feet. "I think you owe these people an apology," the bouncer said. The drunk was about to say something, but noticed that the bouncer was about two hundred pounds heavier than he was. He looked daggers at me, but when he saw the deadly look in June's eye, some survival instinct must have clicked on in his alcohol-addled brain. "I'm... sorry..." His apology sounded entirely insincere, like a second grade bully in front of his friends. The bouncer decided it was good enough, though. "Get the fuck out of here, and don't make the mistake of having me see you in here again!" The drunk double-timed it to the exit. June's drink was on the floor where it flew out of her hand as she flipped the drunk. "May I get you a new drink, miss?" the bouncer asked. "No thanks," June replied, much more calmly now. "I've seen what alcohol can do." "It's usually only the assholes that happens to." "Usually, but not always. I think I've had enough." "That was an excellent move," the bouncer said, impressed. "I have an excellent teacher," June answered. She turned to me and said, "Jim, can you take us home?" "Of course, love," I said. Outside, June seemed to be on the prowl to make sure that the drunk wasn't hanging around waiting for us to depart. Apparently, he wasn't, which was fine with us. Even though it wasn't her turn, June slept with me that night. She was a sexual animal in bed, and couldn't get enough of my tongue and fingers in her snatch. She asked me for permission before each of her four orgasms. I didn't make the mistake of denying her any of them. ------- After four days in New York, we decided it was time to go north. Our next stop was scheduled to be Massachusetts. Debbie called for a package delivery service to pick up the fashions that the two girls had bought on Fifth Avenue to be sent to the family compound on Maui. We called Aimee to allow her to make our trip arrangements. What wasn't said, but what was on my mind, was that Aimee was the one that tended to foresee events before they happened. I just wanted her to approve our itinerary. We took a shuttle into Boston, and found that city to be very similar to New York. Debbie had property in a place called Beacon Hill, but it was already leased. She also had property on Martha's Vineyard, but it wasn't the right season for it. Instead, we stayed at a hotel called The Bostonian, which was near a historic landmark called Fanueil Hall. There was a very crowded bunch of shops at this place, and the girls purchased even more clothes. Even I bought a few pairs of pants and some winter shirts, since I was traveling with only half the stuff that I had packed. Of course, when I got back to the hotel, it turned out that my errant baggage had finally found me. Luckily, there was a place where I could purchase another piece of luggage to hold the extra stuff we had purchased. In Boston, Debbie rented a car, and June drove us up I-93 to the New Hampshire border. At exit two, Debbie insisted on taking a detour along a side road, and we passed an amusement park that I recognized as the place in a dream that Debbie and I had shared on a couple of occasions. As we went past it, I saw the lake that I had seen in Debbie's dreams. Debbie told June and me stories about how her father used to take her there when she was a child and how much she loved the bumper cars. Debbie looked at me non-stop as she recounted those stories. I remembered those dreams that took place there, actually. The place was closed for the winter; apparently, it was only open during the summer. We went north to Manchester, where we ate lunch, and then we took a main road that took us east to I-95, where we stopped at a beautiful Sheraton in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The hotel was near the historic district there, and we had dinner at a nice place that had seafood so good, I knew that I'd return there with Mary some day. After dinner, our waiter recommended a night spot called 43 Degrees North, which is apparently the latitude of Portsmouth. This was a restaurant and wine bar, and actually had an excellent menu. The wine list was quite extensive, and we shared a semi-expensive bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon among the three of us. This time, we had good luck and no drunk attempted to interrupt our night on the town. From Portsmouth, we headed north to Portland, Maine, where we contacted Aimee to get information on Debbie's property on Maine's seacoast. Aimee told us that the property that Debbie owned there was seasonal, and winter wasn't the right season--most of the town would most likely be closed! I realized that there were benefits of living in Hawaii, where "seasonal property" didn't imply seasons where a town might be closed. We instead drove to the airport where we returned the rental car, and took a flight south to Washington, DC. We decided to stay at the same hotel in Falls Church that we had stayed when we were "on the run." June listened in awe at the (only slightly edited) story we told her about our journey we took while she and Mely had stayed in Texas. On a lark, we used our phony identification and credit cards and managed to get the same suite that we had stayed in over a year ago. The next day, there was a package waiting for us. It contained a driver's license with June's picture on it, along with a credit card, social security card, and other information for a complete alias for June. Along with the package, was a simple note: ------- Dear Jim, Congratulations on your lovely daughter. She has her father's eyes, and her mother's face. Please send my love to her mother and her "sisters." In this package, I've got some papers here for your other new addition. Love to everybody, William P.S. Remember your promise. ------- I felt a pang of guilt at having broken that promise of not adding to my family. However, June had always been a part of our extended family; we just made her less "extended." Of course, that was just silly rationalization. I know that I did have a vote in June's acquisition, and all my hesitation melted under Aimee's pure logic. June had a special gift, and, somehow, Aimee was convinced that June had a fixation on me, which was confirmed by her actions in that bar in New York City. I decided that I wasn't sorry to have June an official member of our family. We were getting closer every day, and I found that I could now easily answer that question that Aimee asked me on the beach: Do I love June as much as I did Mary, Debbie, and Aimee? The answer was a resounding "Yes!" From Washington, we went to Knoxville, TN, Jekyll Island, GA, and finally, Key West in Florida. In each of these places, Debbie had property, and, thanks to the milder southern weather, we had no problems staying at any of them except Key West, where Debbie's property had a renter with a long term lease. After our two weeks were over, we flew back to Makena. Debbie's journey to rediscover her father had been successful, and the last week and a half had just been to a way to help heal Debbie's itchy feet. It was only after June let me fly most of the way during the inter-island flight to Maui that I realized that we hadn't stopped at any of the Goddess locations, like I had promised Debbie. Well, we had our lives in front of us! The first thing that Debbie did when we got back was to take a car trip alone with June. The trip lasted two hours. When they came back, Debbie had a happy announcement. Debbie was going to be a mother! Debbie was certain that she conceived her child when we were in the brownstone. I certainly hoped so, just because it would make Debbie so happy. I hadn't known that she was in her fertile period, but it went a long way to explain her intense desire to take the trip right then and there. ------- Chapter 24 "Do what's good for you, or you're not good for anybody!" I had thought that our trip up and down the east coast had convinced June that she was really a member of our family. On the first night after we arrived back in Makena, though, June told me that she was a bit hesitant to sleep with Mary or Aimee. I told her that she should just talk to them and go at her own pace. There was no rush, I told her. The next morning, however, Aimee had her own solution. After breakfast was all cleaned up, Aimee turned to June and said, "June! Report to Sunrise, naked and ready!" June looked surprised, but scurried upstairs. Aimee followed her and I think that cured June of any misgivings she might have had. Mary, Debbie, and I giggled afterward at the two of them, since it was so comical to witness. I helped June move her clothes out from the guest house that she had originally been using into the Rose Room, which had been Mary's room until right before she had Dawn. It was obvious to me that we would probably have to redesign the upper floor of the house eventually. With Debbie pregnant, we knew that Debbie was going to move from Indigo into the Orchid Room around the time she delivered--did that mean that Mary would be moving into Indigo? In addition, Dawn would not be sleeping with Mary when she got older, so she'd need her own room, as would Debbie's child, eventually. When I discussed this with the family, the first suggestion was that Aimee and June might share a room, but I vetoed that idea. I liked the fact that each of the women had their own room; it allowed me to know which bedroom I would be using at night, since Aimee had absolutely forbidden me from sleeping alone. Although I did occasionally sleep with multiple partners, it wasn't the norm. Making love with one woman was very personal to me. It was a one on one experience where the two of us focused on each other. Two or more bed partners reduced the experience, but the women sometimes liked the shared intimacy, as did I, in a different way. I knew that I could give up my own room for Dawn, but that was just postponing the problem for when Debbie's child gets older. The problem, of course, was that all the bedrooms were enormous. They could all be split into two easily and they'd still have room for a king sized bed, a large walk-in closet, and a private bathroom in each. Even the Orchid Room had more than one unused closet that had originally been an exercise room and a library before we converted the downstairs bedrooms into our main exercise room, library/den, and laundry room. Aimee got some graph paper and the two of us laid out our current floor plan and then we all worked on possible designs for alternate bedroom arrangements. We liked the "one bathroom for each bedroom" idea and kept that. We also liked the idea of a larger bedroom/nursery that Orchid had evolved into. I pointed out the plumbing requirements for the bathrooms, and the women took that into consideration. This wasn't something we needed to rush into. After all, each of the women currently had a room of their own, and since Aimee steadfastly refused me to sleep alone at any time, there wasn't any lack of beds for me to sleep in. ------- Aimee and I had a long talk about June after we returned from the east coast. We were sharing a blanket on the little beach near the shack. "You have gotten June over her fear of men," Aimee said, watching June, Mary, and Debbie splash in the warm ocean. "I'm not sure it was fear," I pointed out. "I've been in her mind, and it was more like disgust. Do you really think she fears men?" "I'm not really sure," Aimee admitted. "You are the only man in her eyes, now. That is for certain. No woman can withstand the emotional volcano that you send her when you want her to feel loved." Emotional volcano--I liked the sound of that. Aimee had a way with words. "I love June," I said. "You once asked me how much, remember? I think it was right here, in fact." Aimee nodded. "June seems young and naive, but she isn't," I said. "She's actually the same age as Debbie. Look at her out there," I said, pointing to the ocean where June was in a splashing fight with Debbie and Mary. "June is as playful as Dawn, but she tackled a drunk in a bar in New York in less than a second. She's the most competitive women that I've ever met, but she doesn't care that I sleep with Debbie, Mary, or you, separately or together, at any time." "She's a woman of mystery," Aimee agreed. "Like somebody else that I know," I said, smiling at Aimee. "All women are a mystery to you, Master," Aimee said, softly. "That's why you love us so much." I sighed as I heard Aimee call me "Master." Unlike when Debbie and Mary called me that in the past, I actually felt a bit of pride when Aimee or June called me that. "I guess," I said, thinking about how much Aimee and June were similar to each other. June ran out of the water and to the blanket where we were sitting. "Come on, you two," June said, playfully. "The water's warm. Come on!" Aimee and I allowed June to drag us into the surf. ------- Debbie had adopted June's technique of dry humping me in her sleep during our vacation once June told her about it, and Aimee also did it occasionally once I came home. Mary didn't do this at all, and I think it was mostly because she preferred sleeping with our bodies bracketing Dawn. Our daughter had grown, and she was making more and more noises that were starting to sound like words. I had missed her first real word, "Mama," during our trip to the east coast, but Dawn always was happy to give repeat performances, over and over again. She always smiled as she said it, even pointing to me when she said it. Mary and I were still very proud. Another of Dawn's abilities was that she seemed to have inherited Mary's and my military knowledge, at least when it came crawling on her stomach like a commando. She'd crawl to get wherever it was that she wanted to go, until she'd come upon a barrier like a closed door or the small gate we had at the top of the two stairways. When she'd reach such an obstacle, she'd screech until somebody would pick her up and put her back where she belonged. We never figured out how she got out of her playpen, since she never escaped when there were people watching her. She was a stealth commando, it seemed. Dawn also now had firm control of her rattle, and squealed in delight as she made it make noise--and woe befall anybody that tried to take the rattle away from her... even just to shake it! Does this sound like I was a proud father? Well, you bet your ass I am! Mary, Aimee, and June were all ga-ga over Debbie's condition, with Mary giving Debbie advice from her own recent experience, and Aimee doing the same from her doula training classes. If I thought that Mary and Debbie had a deep bond before, it was now even closer. Almost every time I wasn't sleeping with either of them, they'd be sleeping together. June and Aimee spent their nights alternating with me and each other. Occasionally, June would desire a threesome, and Aimee and I were happy to do so. That was not to say that Debbie or Mary were ignoring me. I knew how Mary was when she was pregnant, and Debbie had mood swings that made avoiding her occasionally a good idea for your peace of mind. During June's first time with Mary, she found that she enjoyed playing bedtime with the mother and daughter, and then, after Dawn fell asleep, the two of them enjoyed a happy sixty-nine. I giggled to myself thinking about my mental image of the two deadly sparring partners sharing a moment of ecstasy together. Mary and June were still sparring together, and from what I saw, it appeared that the two women were nearly equals on the mats. Amazingly, I noticed that Mary was occasionally sporting bruises after a workout, and she finally seemed to be breathing heavily. June had the advantage of youth, youthful reflexes, and a fiercely competitive spirit as an advantage over Mary, and in the kind of bare hand fighting they did, reflexes and spirit counted for quite a lot. Additionally, both women were scarily accurate at the gun range that wasn't too far away from the shack. June had graduated from handguns to rifles, and the two women eventually had a nice collection of weapons that they kept locked away but easily accessible. I occasionally joined Mary and June at the range, and saw that Mary was a marksman with nearly every weapon that fired bullets. She almost always scored perfect bulls-eye's on the twelve-spot target that she used. Since I had been trained by the army, I found that my marksmanship wasn't quite as good as it had been when I was in basic training. Mary suggested that I continue practicing to become better (I averaged between 88 and 92 in my targets, I had been about a 98 average back in basic), but I felt that my accuracy was good enough. When Mary heard about my attitude, she said, "Jim, there may come a day when you're up against ten men. Getting nine targets out of ten will still leave you with a possibly armed man still against you." I knew better than to disagree with Mary. After all, Mary was right. I shouldn't rely on just Mary and June to cover my ass. What kind of a leader was I? Even so, I didn't attend the gun range with them too much, actually. June and Mary had a scary dedication toward improving their accuracy that even impressed the people that ran the range. The women constantly had an audience as they practiced, and the owners on more than one occasion asked if either of the women were interested in jobs as instructors. Both Mary and June politely declined. ------- One day, I was playing with Dawn in the atrium, who was playing with her rattle on the carpet. Dawn's plush flamingo was also around--another of her precious possessions that she doesn't like being without. All of a sudden, I heard a commotion in the kitchen, and Mary bounded into the atrium, pulling Dawn up and pushing me away from where I had been sitting on the floor. I was about to ask Mary what was happening when I heard a large roar as a truck moved by on the road in front of our house. The vibrations of the truck could be felt inside the house, and in just a moment or two, the vibrations toppled a vase that landed on the floor where Dawn and I had been playing just moments earlier. As it was, it landed on Dawn's precious flamingo, causing Dawn to start crying. "Sorry, Jim," Mary said, cuddling Dawn, who was still crying. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" "Just my pride," I said, standing up and rubbing my ass. "How did you know that would happen?" "I didn't. I just knew Dawn had to get out of the way." I nodded. I remembered Aimee telling me how Mary could see danger to Dawn and me in advance. I also noticed how Mary said Dawn was in danger--not me--and Dawn was the first one that Mary moved out of the way. My pride was hurt in more ways in one, but I realized that I would have probably used the same priority scheme myself. I shuddered, thanking the heavens that Mary had time to get me out of the way as well. That vase had been heavy. The flamingo had prevented too much damage to the vase. There was no damage to the flamingo, and Dawn calmed down a little bit when her plush flamingo was given back to her. Mary hovered over Dawn like a hawk for the rest of the day. ------- Now that she was pregnant, Debbie no longer had the wanderlust that she had before, and the second half of her voyage of discovery was postponed. One day, Aimee and I were spending some private time having an afternoon fuck in Sunrise, her personal room. "You are troubled, Jim." "I keep thinking about that vase and Mary." "Mary's not a danger to you, Jim. You just need to realize you aren't her highest priority anymore." "That's not what is troubling me." "What is it, then?" "It's Mary's fixation on self-defense and weapons." "No, it isn't," Aimee said. "Huh?" "You are worried about June's fixation on those things." "I guess," I said. Aimee had a way of cutting through bullshit. "Mary says that June is her equal or maybe even better with bare hands." I nodded at Aimee. "I saw June throw a knife in New York. It was just a demonstration, but it scared me. She also knocked down a drunk that was ready to hit me. The last time I was at the range, I couldn't tell Mary's and June's targets! They both shoot nearly perfect with both hands!" "June is still the woman that loves to lay on you and rub herself to sleep." I laughed softly. Aimee had a way of pointing those sort of things out. I had taken to calling June "Inchworm" as a pillow name due to the way her butt would move up and down as she slept. "Those are two people that my mind cannot reconcile. June the Inchworm sleeps with knives and guns near her bed. They're locked up, of course, but I've seen her practice getting them out of the lock boxes and even has her ammo loaded in seconds!" "Mary does the same," Aimee pointed out. "I never knew it until I asked Mary, and then only after I had made a joke with June. She demonstrated it to me, and I was floored." Aimee simply nodded. "You know that I'm a little squeamish having weapons in the same room as Dawn, but I know how secure the lock boxes are. Still, don't you think this is going a little too far?" "You should ask them," Aimee replied. "What I think doesn't matter in this case. You two are both Dawn's parents, and that should be paramount. I do know that Mary's guns and knives don't really bother you, Jim. June's shouldn't either. It's just who they are." I sighed. "I'd rather have the cuddly June rather than the killer June." "They are one and the same person. You said that June was a woman of mystery, Jim." Our discussion paused for a few moments as we reached orgasm. Sex with Aimee was always very relaxing. This was in stark contrast with Debbie or June, who could leave you breathless without breaking a sweat. "What do you think about Debbie?" Aimee asked, afterward. "I think I understand her more than I did before we left for New York. We had a couple of long talks. Did Debbie show you the letter her father wrote?" Aimee nodded. "It confirms your suspicion." "You don't want me to always be right." I laughed. "It would make you more human, Aimee." Aimee gave me one of her infrequent laughs. "I'll try to be more human. Does that mean I need to act like you, Master?" I laughed heartily at Aimee's suggestion. "No, Aimee," I answered. "One human asshole in the house is enough, don't you think?" I rolled over until Aimee was in June's sleeping position. "This is enjoyable," Aimee sighed. "You taught it to me; I taught it to June." "I taught it to you so you could teach it to June." Aimee could sometimes be exasperating. I didn't respond, but enjoyed the sensations of her motions against my prick. "Have you thought about June's request?" Aimee asked. "Which request?" Aimee didn't answer, but gave me a look that told me she knew that I knew exactly what she was talking about. I had thought that only June and I had known about it. "I don't fuck women in the ass," I answered. "June will never know the pleasure of penetration." As I said, Aimee was exasperating. "Why must I be the only man here?" "You won't be for long. In five months, Debbie will have her James." "A boy?" I had been able to determine Dawn's gender before she was born, as did Aimee, but we both kept that information from Mary because she told us that wanted to be happily surprised when she delivered. I hadn't yet gotten any sense of the gender of Debbie's unborn child yet, but I did secretly hope that Debbie would get her boy. Of course, the odds were practically zero that any child of Debbie's would be the one to penetrate June. My question had been a rhetorical, anyway. I knew that I didn't want any other men in the house as competition. I wondered how the women could be so accepting of such a non-traditional relationship, and why I was so closed-minded about reversing the roles. Aimee saw my mind was far away and said, softly, "We got a letter from Kristen and Jim today." "Oh?" "Kristen's pregnant again," Aimee told me. "Oogie has called off touring this time, since it took such a toll on Kristen during her first pregnancy." "Do you still think Jim may be an Empath?" "He is not an Empath. He is magical." "I don't see the difference." "His magic comes from... elsewhere. Ours comes from within." "What is his magic? Music?" I asked, intrigued. "Music, definitely," Aimee said. "He has the capability to be bigger than Elvis. Instead he spends his time with his wife and his family. He fights the record industry tooth and nail, and they have much more money than he has. If it weren't for his undeniable talent, the two of them would be broke by now. Still, he wins against the big companies. Even performers that have contracts with the record companies ignore their companies' prohibitions and perform at their clubs, sometimes donating the fees they earn to the Swift-Crittenhouse Charitable Foundation." I nodded. "I like music being his magic." "That's not his big magic. Music just defines him." "Oh?" I asked. "What is the big magic you perceive?" "I see wisdom and restraint," Aimee said, her eyes unfocused with a faraway look. "Kristen is consumed by his magic, but her love for him comes from deep within her heart." Like many conversations I had with Aimee, I found myself totally confused. Aimee was describing the relationship that every woman in this house, with the possible exception of Dawn, had with me. "I've invited their family here on a number of occasions," Aimee continued. "They used to say that their touring of their clubs makes it difficult, but now that they have stopped touring, I feel I could possible convince them to visit us." Aimee's rubbing had me erect again. Aimee knew this and adjusted her body so my cock slipped inside her again, with her on top this time. Of all the women in the house, Aimee seemed to have a magical way of knowing exactly how to move her crotch at any time. I have a feeling she had learned special exercises as part of her doula training. Aimee started a massaging motion that consisted of her hips moving as well as the muscles of her cunt constantly modifying their grip. Aimee didn't fuck this way very often, and I found it extremely stimulating. I sent waves of love directed at Aimee, and found, to my surprise, that she was doing the same thing to me at the exact same time. I felt lost in the torrent of the pure emotion that Aimee and I were sharing. I moved my face down to kiss Aimee, which would be the icing on the cake for me. Instead of kissing me, Aimee pulled her face away from me and asked, "Will you grant June her request?" Aimee may be a wise person indeed, but I knew for a fact that her question came from the fact that she was a female. She knew without doubt that I would find it difficult to deny anybody anything in my current state of arousal. I didn't answer Aimee, knowing that I would cave in to her desires. Aimee didn't repeat her request, but her motions were becoming more and more stimulating. She did not allow me to kiss her, moving her face away from my approaching lips whenever I tried. My breathing got erratic. Aimee continued to arouse me with her motions and with the "emotional volcano" she was erupting in my mind. I closed my eyes and tried moving my own hips, but Aimee's position on me now prevented that. My balls started churning, but at that very moment, Aimee's cunt muscles managed to clamp tight around the head of my cock, preventing further movement, and, even more alarming, preventing my semen from releasing. "Wha--!" "Will you grant June her request?" Aimee repeated. I had never felt anything like the jaws of the vise that Aimee had created with her muscles. It felt like somebody had suddenly tied a tight rope around my shaft. My mind turned inside out. My brain had left the building, taking up residence in my balls, where a serious need was boiling within. Aimee's question reverberated in my empty skull, and I knew what I had to do in order to achieve my release. "Yes..." I started to say, and as I said that first word, Aimee released her grip on me, and my balls went ape shit. "Oh... My... GOD... !" I cried as my seed belatedly entered Aimee's waiting chamber. I had felt this way once before, when I had tried to stave off an orgasm at June's expense, thinking that I might accidentally inseminate her. This time, however, it had entirely been Aimee's doing, and it was much stronger. After about ten minutes, my heart rate finally slowed to around a hundred beats per minute. "I felt your release," Aimee said. "In my mind, I mean. Only one other time had I felt pleasure so raw." I nodded my head. "You tried connecting to Dawn?" Aimee nodded in response. "Jim, I'm sorry for torturing you. It's not my place." "Humph," I answered. "I was just thinking that my refusal to June might feel to her the way you just made me feel. All that need and no way to express it." Aimee didn't respond. After a few minutes, she said, "You are a wise and wonderful man, James Montgomery. We are all lucky to have you." ------- I walked downstairs, no bothering to dress. I saw June in the kitchen, and I walked past her into the atrium. I sat on my favorite chair. June noticed my lack of clothing, and came into the atrium after me. She was about to ask me a question when I interrupted her. "June," I said, using my firm command tone. "Suckle." June was a master of the penis suckle. Unlike a true blow job, suckling was simply putting a cock into her mouth, taking it about halfway and not even approaching her throat, and then simply applying a gentle suction. She was gentle and this didn't even require me to be hard. I found that I enjoyed June's suckles after a good workout. During this operation, June's head would be slightly lower than my balls, with her face looking up past my dick to make eye contact with me. "Hmmm," June sighed, continuing her gentle sucking. "Aimee." June had recognized my last bed partner. "Yes," I said. "Aimee suggested that I grant you your request, June." June's eyes opened wider in surprise, but she kept my cock in place in her mouth. I was still reluctant, but I said, "I'll do it, June, but I'll want Debbie to be with us when it happens." I wanted Debbie around because she, like Aimee, was pretty well connected into June's feelings, and she was more physically expressive than Aimee. Debbie would prevent me from becoming Mr. Asshole (quite literally). June's eyes simply sparkled with happiness. June continued to suckle me as I fell fast asleep. ------- I was dreaming of a moonlit sky surrounded by stars. It was a dream that I had many times, and it was somehow comforting to me. Everything was peaceful and quiet. The air was cool but not cold. I could see the shadows on the nearly full moon, and I tried to make out the patterns in the shadows and of the stars as I continued to stare at them. I could do this forever, I thought. It's so calm, so beautiful here. After a length of time--I have no way of knowing how long--I suddenly noticed June was with me, her nude body illuminated as if there were a spotlight behind me shining on her. "Hello, Master." "Where are we?" I asked, knowing that the road was in San Diego, but also knowing that June had never before been a part of this dream. "We are in your dream, I think," June said. "Where are we physically? Our bodies?" "Back at the shack. I'm still doing what you commanded me to do to you. You were hard and then went soft when you fell asleep. You left my mind, so I entered yours." I couldn't feel June's suckling, but I could still feel the cool breeze on my body, which made me now realize that I was nude in this dream. "Why are you here?" I asked. "Aimee told me what she did to you. I want to apologize." "Aimee is in the atrium?" "No. She's still in Sunrise. She told me in my mind what she had done to you, and I was trying to think of what I wanted to say to you in response when your mind left mine." "You did nothing wrong; neither did Aimee." June dropped her eyes. "I will not accept your offer on those terms." "I didn't agree because Aimee did that to me. I agreed because I realized that my not granting your request might hurt you in a similar fashion. Remember when I didn't grant your request to have an orgasm back in New York?" "Yes," June said. "I realize that it might be the same when I denied your request." "Aimee told me that you are too much a gentle man--she said it like that, two words--to do something that you think might hurt me. I know you had problems spanking me that first time, and I understand how you feel now." "You are learning, Inchworm." "Aimee told me that the two of us share a magical bond that none of the rest of us share. I'm not sure what Aimee means by that." I sighed. "I don't think anybody on earth can possibly truly understand Aimee." June nodded. Her face was still serious. "I'm still sorry. I didn't intend for Aimee to hurt you." "She didn't hurt me. She apologized. Let's say it was a mistake. I feel that if Aimee makes a mistake then there's still hope for the human race." This time, June laughed. "It would be funny to spank Aimee!" I shook my head. I don't think that Aimee had that sort of need, and I had no need to punish her. June said seriously, "You consider Aimee an angel sent from God, don't you?" This was a danger when you had a person that can invade dreams walking inside your head. "I don't think the metaphor is correct." "Still, you think of her that way." "I have yet to figure Aimee out," I admitted. "When I think that I might be starting to understand her, she does something outrageous and... it turns out to once again be something perfect." "I wish I could have met Aimee's Aunt Tomeii," June said wistfully. "She sounds so much like Aimee herself." "It's scary to think of two Aimees on the earth at the same time," I mused. "Jim?" "Yes?" "We now have an audience." I looked around. I was alone on a road in San Diego. But I wasn't alone. June was there... and then I realized that it wasn't June at all, but rather, a projection of her. "Don't try to intellectualize it, Jim," June said. "You're getting better at this." "Mary's getting very concerned, Jim. Debbie and Dawn with her. Mary's shaking your body and you aren't waking up. Would you please wake up and reassure her?" For some reason, the process of waking up eluded me. "What do I do?" "When I'm dreaming, and I know it, I simply blink my eyes and I wake up." I blinked my eyes. I found myself back in the atrium. Debbie was holding Dawn, and Mary had her hands on my shoulders, shaking me. Aimee was there as well, shaking June just like Mary was shaking me. June had been shaken away from my cock. Mary, Debbie, and Aimee had very worried looks on their faces. The daylight in the atrium was hard on my eyes. I squinted and said, "Hey! What are you all doing here?" "You were gone again. You weren't dreaming!" Mary said. "What's wrong with June?" "Huh?" I said, confused. "I was dreaming!" Aimee looked at me. "Neither Mary nor I could get to either of you." "I've been here," I said. I saw that June looked completely unconscious. "I took a nap after June started sucking me." "She's not here, either," Mary said. "She wasn't doing anything, it was like you were two statues, Jim. Look at her... connect with her... her mind isn't there!" At that moment, June blinked, and she came back to life. She saw the three women around us. "We have an audience," June repeated, aloud this time. "What were the two of you doing?" Mary demanded. "Making love," I said. "I think we were both dreaming, and visiting each other." This was one of the first times that Aimee looked confused about this sort of thing. "Please, Mary. Everything is all right," I said firmly to reassure my wife. "You two had us extremely concerned," Mary said. "We were all scared for you, especially Aimee!" It took some convincing, but finally the women left June and me by ourselves. "You lied to them," June whispered. "Huh?" I whispered back. "You weren't really dreaming. You were unconscious, and it wasn't the same as when you are dreaming. You were behaving the same way that Mary and Aimee describe you when they took you to Washington." "You mean... ?" "It's not exhaustion," June said, reading my mind. "Exhaustion may bring it on, but it's not just that. Aimee doesn't understand it. Nobody understands it. I find it confusing." "You don't understand it?" I asked. "Maybe I understand a little. I got worried when you went to sleep because usually when the two of us are together and alone, I feel you in my mind. I felt you leave my mind, and I went into yours and found that there was nothing there!" "How can that be? I was definitely dreaming, June." "I found something very faint, and I followed it. I saw that you were dreaming and I was there with you. Could it be that you are hiding in a part of your mind that only you and maybe I can access? I saw a dark road with a moon and stars in the sky. Mary and Aimee have described it before, and they've seen it in your mind. I've only been there this once, and I can see the horror of that place." "The horror?" I asked, confused. "You seem to ignore it," June said. "You seem to think it is peaceful and there is nothing around you except the breeze, the moon, and the stars." "That's right..." I started to answer. "No, Jim," June whispered a bit louder. "I was there, Jim. You look up at the sky endlessly, ignoring everything else. There is terrible pain. There is agony. I see your body contorted into a fetal position. I hear a woman screaming and crying--Mary, I think. You, on the other hand, pretend you are still walking down that road, and you continue to look up in the sky, ignoring everything else. I was surprised that you even noticed me in the dream. Actually, you ignored me for about five minutes before you noticed me." "What I experience is just walking down a road looking up at the sky." June shook her head. "Your dream doesn't seem to end!" I remember back when I was at the hospital, the psychiatrists explained to me that the reason that I couldn't remember actually being hit by the jeep was because my mind took a better memory, and runs it over and over, instead of the bad memory. Is that what was happening now? I didn't answer June, but continued thinking. June shuddered. "Jim, I fear that when you dream of that moon and sky, you are relapsing into your coma!" June's description was scary. I mean, it fit with what the doctors had told me. Fetal position, Mary crying... The realization... Maybe I wasn't relapsing into a coma, but what was it when Aimee, Mary, and even June seem to think that I'm unconscious and not dreaming? If I'm experiencing this endless dream... Hundreds... no, thousands of thoughts were flying through my head. The past, the present... even the future. Mary and Aimee can enter my mind freely, but only June could find that hiding place that I had built, if June's description was correct. What if that scene was my brain's interpretation of my coma? It may have lasted twelve years, but maybe my mind thinks it was only a dream... "June, I need you to promise me something," I whispered urgently. "What Jim?" "Don't ever tell anybody about this! If you ever find me on that lonely road again, then please tease me out. If the other women get wind of this, especially Mary, I'm not sure how they'll take it. Aimee doesn't allow me to sleep alone as it is. If she finds out that you are the only one able to reach me when this happens, she may not allow either of us to sleep without each other ever again." "I'm afraid, Jim." "About what?" It was difficult to imagine June afraid of anything. June shuddered. "The women said I was the same way as you just now. I can see that they were worried about both of us, not just you. That 'Dream State, ' as you call it, seems very close to death to them!" ------- In a way, June's and my discussion after that incident actually helped me. I still thought about that haunting moon and starlit sky--there's no way I cannot think about it--but after that discussion I had with June, I mostly did so only when I was wide awake. There were a few times that I experienced that dream afterward. Each time, as soon as I recognized that I was in that scene, I remembered June's advice and blinked my eyes. It seems so simple, but that physical act seems to break the disconnection between that dream and reality. I usually wake up with a start, and with the exception of Aimee, who is a light sleeper, the usual response from my bed partner is a quiet, "There, there" and they return to sleep. In the case of Aimee, I would always feel her voice in my head, saying, "I will love you forever, Master!" Somehow, all of those responses would make me feel loved. To this date, I still think of that scene, but it's no longer the romantic memory that I had previously associated with it. When I want to think of something happy, I no longer think about that lonely road. I now think of other, really happy times, such as watching a child come to life, or special times that I've had with one or more of the women. I don't think June ever told Mary or Debbie, but I'm not sure about Aimee. I don't think it is actually possible to keep a secret from Aimee. Despite that, the fact that June told me how to escape out of that dream made sure that it never recurred to the point that any of the women became worried about it ever again. ------- To say that Debbie experienced hormone fluctuation would be a gross understatement. In the space of a few moments, she would vacillate between wanting me to hold her as tight as I could and to promise never to let her go, to wanting me out of her bed forever. Only Mary and Aimee (and Dawn) seemed to be exempt from such tirades. I had experienced this before with Mary, although not nearly to this degree. Debbie, to her credit, never actually physically threw me out of her bed, as Mary had done once during a particularly bad mood swing when she was pregnant with Dawn. Aimee's simplistic explanation was that unlike Mary, Debbie's hormones tended to influence her life in a more profound way. Whether or not Aimee was correct, living with Debbie after her first trimester was an emotional roller coaster ride. ------- Dawn was walking now, and had an ever-expanding vocabulary. When Aimee would teach her words, she'd teach Dawn two words, English first, and then the Hawaiian equivalent. Even though Dawn was not racially Hawaiian, she was still born on the islands, and Aimee was determined to make sure that her beloved language did not die. I remember making a joke that for the first few months of Dawn's life, we kept encouraging her to walk and to talk, and now, it was common for us to wish her to just sit down and shut up! Dawn would interchange Hawaiian and English within a single sentence, which would confuse everybody except Aimee, of course. Aimee, on the other hand, would gently explain when and how to use the Hawaiian properly. Actually, Dawn's English/Hawaiian attempts actually got the rest of us learning more Hawaiian as we attempted to figure out what Dawn was saying. I don't think that Aimee had ever planned that this happen, but I am very sure that Aimee liked the side-effect. Of course, in the end, Dawn was really not a problem at all. She had the curiosity of a kitten, and a devilishly sharp mind. I loved that beautiful creature, and I would do anything I could for her. ------- As Aimee mentioned to me, we had both invited Jim and Kristen to visit us many times, and this year, they finally took us up on our offer that year in the middle of June. They asked if their manager, Patty Nadal, could also come over. We said, "Of course!" The three were immediately taken by our "grass shack" and they stayed in one of the larger guest houses on the property. Kristen was pregnant, although not as much as Debbie was. They brought a lot of gear with them, mostly baby stuff, even though we had assured them that we had more than enough cribs, cradles, and whatever they needed, but they wanted to be self-sufficient. Patty Nadal was indeed the red-head that was sitting next to us that time we were at the Goddess club in Chicago. Patty had arranged for a courier to arrive with even more gear after they had been with us for a few days. This new gear contained computers, amplifiers, and a few instruments. Kristen and Jim told us that they would like to help our family celebrate the Independence Day holiday musically. None of us had expected a professional night club act to ever perform on our property, but we were excited at the prospect. Jim and Kristen's child, Trisha Beth, was even more adorable than her pictures suggested. She got along with Dawn very nicely as well, except that Dawn was still very possessive of her rattle and flamingo, as well as some of her other toys. Trisha Beth had her own favorite toys, however. If Dawn wasn't around, I'd say that Trisha Beth was the cutest kid that ever lived. Even so, she was definitely the cutest baby with blonde hair that ever lived. We took everybody on a tour of the islands; it was their first trip to Hawaii, and they really loved the pace of life here. Jim, Kristen, and Patty never mentioned anything about our unconventional family; if they suspected anything, they never said anything. For their part, we noticed that Patty stayed in the same guest house as Jim and Kristen, so maybe their life might have been different as well; it didn't really matter to any of us. What I really admired was that they didn't judge us on our lifestyle, they just simply treated us as friends. On the fourth of July, Jim and I grilled a feast of lamb chops, hamburgers, and boneless chicken, while the women (including Kristen and Patty) made various salads, vegetable dishes, and drinks. We had a big holiday picnic. As we worked together, Patty came out with some seasonings and sauces that Aimee had prepared earlier. Patty and Jim explained to me how he got the stage name "Oogie Woogie" and the story about how he and his beautiful wife met. They also explained about his tribulations with record companies and how Jim, Kris, and Patty opened their first nightclub as a way to spite the industry. They proudly told me how, despite the fact that the record industry refuses to count the sales of the House Band records and CDs, their band easily outsells most of the current top forty bands in total units actually sold (as opposed to total units distributed to stores). In return, I explained to Patty and Jim about the accident where Mary and I first met, and also gave them heavily edited story about our family, describing how close the women were (Jim hadn't met June before) and how the women considered themselves sisters. Patty and Jim listened without asking any awkward questions. Our conversation quickly turned to our daughters. We had very many nearly-identical stories, except that Trisha Beth only had one aunt, an Aunt Merry who was Jim's sister. Dawn had four aunts: the three that were "honorary" aunts, and Mary's sister, who lived in Nova Scotia and who we hadn't met yet. After dark, people in boats off the coast started setting off skyrockets, Roman candles, and other fireworks. We watched the fireworks from our patio chairs. After the fireworks calmed down, Oogie and Kristen went to the stage that Oogie, Patty, June, and I had helped set up earlier, and I turned on the floodlights which were now pointed to give the stage good coverage. The couple performed a rather great set with just a few instruments: a keyboard, a guitar, a trumpet, a trombone, and (surprisingly) a few Macintosh computers. They had a couple of amplifiers, microphones, and other electronic equipment as well. After a set that lasted a little over a half hour, Oogie stepped up to the microphone, and said, "Kris and I had been wondering how we could pay tribute to this lovely property that you have shared with our family. You call this place the Little Grass Shack, so we decided to dedicate this next song to your Shack." Patty and Kristen typed a few things on a couple of the computer keyboards and gave Oogie a signal. I smiled. I was expecting the "I want to get back to my little grass shack" song, but noticed that Kristen had picked up an electric guitar. Electronic drums started playing out of speakers. If you see a faded sign, On the side of the road, That says, "Fifteen miles to the Love... Shack!" ------- Oogie and Kristen performed what was a nearly flawless imitation of the B-52s. It was a great dancing song, and I found myself dancing with Mary, June, Aimee, and even Debbie during that song. I noticed that Kristen was singing backup to herself; I would be told later that the couple had programmed accompaniments on the computers just for this show. They had a multi-track system set up that Patty was controlling using the computer systems. I had noticed the lights of many boats had moved dangerously close to the shore, obviously attempting to better hear the music coming from the performance. When the song was complete, Kristen and Patty left the stage with Oogie taking a seat behind an electronic keyboard. Before they left, Patty typed on the computer keyboards for a few seconds, and signaled again to Oogie. The two left the stage and sat down on some patio chairs next to Debbie, who had a tired Trisha Beth on her lap. Both of our daughters had a special set of ear plugs that were connected with a long metal chain behind their heads, which Jim and Kristen had wisely suggested, due to the volume of the music emitted out the speakers. The chain was in case the children tried to swallow their ear plugs. Oogie pulled the microphone closer to his face, and said, "In the past, I've dedicated songs to Mary and Jim; my lovely wife Kristen, who is the one and only Goddess in my life; to Trisha Beth, the best thing that ever happened to Kristen and me; the ravishing Patty; and just now to your lovely Shack. I now want to dedicate a special song to every one of you, including the two unborn children who, God willing, will be with us in the future." Oogie looked at the computer for his cue, and then I heard what sounded like orchestral strings playing an introduction. I see trees of green, Red roses too. I see them bloom, For me and you. And I think to myself, "What a wonderful world!" ------- This was an older song, and it was absolutely lovely. Although he dedicated this song to everybody, he was staring only at Kristen--his Goddess--and Kristen was staring back at her husband. It was obvious that the two were absolutely, positively in love. I looked at the women in my life: Mary, who had Dawn asleep on her lap; Debbie, who had Trisha Beth; June; and Aimee. Every one of them was staring at me the same way that Oogie and Kris were starting at each other. As I looked at each of the women, I sent a mental "I love you" to each one. At the end of the song, I was about to applaud when we suddenly heard explosions: the boats that were moored nearby were setting off firecrackers and Roman candles in their own form of applause. Oogie looked a bit embarrassed, but turned toward the ocean and waved to acknowledge the response. I wish to this day that we had recorded their performance. I found out afterward that they could have easily recorded their performance if we had asked them to do so, since they had the equipment with them. They just hadn't thought of it, since it wasn't an official "House Band" performance. Everyone in our family was sad to see Kristen, Jim, Trisha Beth, and Patty leave, as we all really managed to get close during the time they were visiting us. However, I knew we'd be seeing them again; if not here in Makena, then at their own family compound somewhere in central Illinois. After they left, Debbie called her Uncle Chuck in New York to have him purchase a larger estate in the Chicago area, where we could stay when we visited the Swift-Crittenhouse family. As far as she was concerned, there was no "if we would visit" but "when we will visit." ------- One night, during Debbie's third trimester, Debbie and I were sharing a bed. I could tell that Debbie had something that she really wanted to tell me. "Out with it," I finally prodded, hoping that the words "I HATE ALL MEN!" wouldn't be the majority of her response. Instead, Debbie asked, "What?" "You're trying to say something, but you don't know how to start." "I... I lied to you, Jim." Debbie? Lie to me? Never! Debbie saw my disbelieving look and sighed. "I used to have dreams of you, Jim. When I was much younger. You were in the army, and were strong and handsome. I told my mom about them, and she thought I was dreaming. There were some times that I felt you with me, though. This was before I even met you!" "I know, Debbie." "You know?" "That place that you had June drive by in New Hampshire," I said. "You went there a couple of times with your parents. You thought you felt me there at the time." Debbie didn't say anything for about five minutes. "How the fuck do you know that, Jim?" "I visited you in your dreams," I said. "In your dreams, you believed you knew me back then, and I was there with you. I remember the bumper cars, the picnic table..." "Oh my God!" Debbie said. "It really happened." "No, Debbie," I said, softly. "It was just a dream." "What do you mean?" Debbie asked. I thought for a moment. Could I really explain to Debbie about what I learned about dreams? I didn't want to tell her about that lonely road that I had walked for twelve years. I didn't want to tell her that a dream could sometimes be just a step away from a nightmare. I didn't want to scare this pregnant, wonderful woman. I held Debbie hard. "I've thought about this for a while, and I realize now that it was just a dream. You had good memories of that park, and you dream about it every so often. On two different occasions, I visited you in those dreams. The last time I did was right before we left for New York. The memories you have now are memories of those dreams, and you are confusing them with the actual times you were at the park. I know that." "You mean... ?" "Think about it, Debbie," I said, softly. "The first time you met me, did you have any idea that you had seen me before?" Debbie thought a bit and said, "No..." "You see?" I said, hugging Debbie tightly, making sure not to press too hard against her distended belly. "If you really imagined me as a youngster, you would have recognized me, or at least, you would have had a feeling of deja-vu, that you knew me from somewhere. You never did. Dreams can be very tricky, I've found out. Didn't Disney have a movie where a girl sings, 'A dream is a wish your heart makes?'" "'When you're fast asleep, '" Debbie sang, softly. "Cinderella." Shit. A story about a girl who lost her father! Time to get away from that one. I decided to be easy on Debbie. "Debbie, if you wish to believe that you had a dream about me before we met, do so. I think it's very romantic to be the man of your dreams, like your mother said." "You were there," Debbie said, softly. Debbie smiled as she fell asleep, and I wondered why I had tried to warn Debbie about dreams. I think I was starting to sound a bit paranoid. ------- Debbie's delivery was late, and her doctor was a bit worried about it, but on the first of September, 1990, James Malen, II was born to the world. Aimee, who by this time was fully accredited as a doula, was very comforting to Debbie during her delivery, despite the worried remarks from the medical people. It turned out that Aimee was correct (as usual), and the doctors were wrong. Aimee, June, and I were with her during the delivery. We helped her get through it by thinking happy thoughts toward her as she was forced to bear down to expel the child. Mary and Mely were in the waiting room, playing with Dawn. James was born weighing seven pounds, eleven ounces, and didn't have a bit of hair on his head, unlike his cousin Dawn. He looked like Kojak, from the TV series. When asked to fill out the birth certificate, Debbie claimed that she had a fling with somebody in New York City, and she had no desire to seek paternity. However, anybody that looked at the beautiful boy that was the product of Debbie's and my love could see that his eyes were identical to those on Dawn and the other male that lived in our grass shack in Makena. It was hard for me not to strut through the hospital and tell everybody that my son had just been born. After all, I was just a "friendly uncle" and close friend to the mother. A week before James was born, June and I took a trip to Lahaina and found a T-shirt place that made customized shirts. I commissioned a T-shirt for Dawn that read, "I'm The Big Cousin!" and we got James a light purple sleeper suitable for a newborn that read, "I'm The Little Cousin." When Mary and I led Dawn into Debbie's private room to meet her cousin for the first time, I could swear that she was strutting down the hallways as if she knew what her T-shirt read. I do know that a lot of photographs were taken of the two cousins wearing matching outfits, and Dawn had the biggest toothless smile that I ever saw in my life. James and Dawn would be best friends immediately. I never saw any real competition for affection from any of the grownups. ------- After having experienced Dawn, I thought I was ready for James. Oh, the follies of parents! For the first month or so of his life, James was very similar to Dawn at the same age, except sometimes when you'd change him, "Old Faithful" would erupt, requiring an additional change. When he was a little older, Mary and Debbie decided that James was actually waiting for his chance to go when they changed him, and the volunteers for changing, which were as high as 100% when Dawn was a newborn, dwindled to just Debbie, Aimee, and myself. I think the three of us that didn't mind changing James knew in our hearts that there was no animosity in him. Aimee thought it was the cool air hitting his privates that set him off, and we finally found ways to minimize the exposure and afterward the process wasn't as difficult, although James still sometimes had a problem. I once heard June refer to James as "O.F." for "Old Faithful" and when I heard the shortening of the term to "oaf," I put my foot down... hard! Even though James didn't understand the good-naturedness of the teasing, it could be something that might have a negative impact later on. Besides, it was my feeling that the people that actually changed him should be the ones that should be able to say anything about it, right? Mary wickedly suggested the name "Ever-ready," a name that might make him popular later on in school. James was never known as Jim, mostly to avoid the confusion that might happen due to the fact that we both had the same given name. Debbie always maintained that he was named after his grandfather, who never used my nickname. The interaction between Dawn and James was interesting. Dawn had dolls that she played with, but somehow knew that James was a "living doll" and always accorded him the utmost respect, except when something would suddenly capture her attention when she was with James. At that point, James would be dropped as Dawn went to pursue whatever it was that captured her imagination, and as a result, we were always vigilant when the two children were together. It wasn't always easy. Mary was trying to wean Dawn from the bottle and pacifiers, and Dawn discovered that James was a rather great source of replacements when hers were taken from her. As a result, James would have to resort to sucking on his own thumb, a habit that would take us a couple of years for us to finally break. Dawn's name for her little brother was "Jaym," since she seemed to have problems with the "S" sound. If you heard her say, "Jaym! Jaym!" then everybody knew that he was getting himself into trouble, and we'd rush to find out what was going on. After having her own child, Debbie decided to start selling off some of the properties around the country that she owned. She had decided, like Mary had done before her, that Maui was now her home. We still took vacations every so often, but traveling with youngsters requires a lot of extra work, packing extra equipment and supplies. It was Aimee who actually solved that problem. We had about four parts of the country that we would visit: the New England area, the Midwest (specifically Chicago, after the Swift-Crittenhouse family paid us a visit), New York City, and the Los Angeles-San Diego area. Aimee simply ensured that we had an adequate stock of strollers, infant carriers, and whatever else we needed at convenient locations before we traveled, usually at the property where we would be staying. She also hired people to stock the properties before we traveled, and to clean up the properties after we'd leave. In addition, we leased extra large sized conversion vans with comfortable seats, entertainment centers, and other useful essentials at each of our vacation homes to ensure that our family, which was getting large, would be able to travel in style. Still, Debbie sold just about all of the properties we didn't use from year to year, selling the investment properties to Charles Penet, who still considered them to be good investments. Debbie even sold the apartment complex in San Diego in favor of a luxury townhouse near the beach that had five bedrooms (it cost a fortune, but quickly became a favorite vacation spot for us). It turned out that not having all those extra properties made her taxes easier for the accountants, who didn't have to worry about property and other taxes in close to twenty different states. ------- After Debbie had James, the general consensus of the women was that Aimee was next. I knew she went off her birth control a few months after James was born, but she never made it look like she was trying very hard to become pregnant. After a while, I suspected that she found that there was something wrong with her physically that might prevent her from giving birth during one of her few visits to the gynecologist, but whenever I brought up the subject, she just said that she wasn't in any particular hurry to have a child, and dropped the subject. Aimee was stubborn, and if she didn't want to talk about something, she wouldn't. Instead of working on a baby, Aimee took up a new hobby. She landscaped a large part of the property that was closest to the beach, working the soil and creating a lovely edging to it. Aimee continued with this project for years, working on it a little at a time, and refusing any help from the women. For some reason, she allowed me sit around when she tended her garden, and she would also allow Dawn to come over and help her. Centrally located on the northern edge of the garden was the seedling that Aimee had planted when Dawn was born. In its opposite spot, on the southern side was an identical plant that Aimee planted when James was born. The seedlings were for Butterfly Palms, and they grew quickly--even quicker than our children did. Within this garden, Aimee planted an uncountable number of orchids. On the outside edges of the plot were her favorites, the light purple ones. Inside the plot, however, Aimee had designed a sidewalk within the landscaping that weaved in and among the orchids. I helped her laying down the slate tiles, and it was beautiful. I built a shed for Aimee's garden tools, and June and little James offered to help. Whenever we would stop to relax, we would listen to Aimee singing softly to Dawn in Hawaiian, as the two carefully mulched Aimee's precious plants. Aimee's Garden was lovely and reflected the large amount of time that she devoted to it. In just a couple of years, it would be a favorite place for the entire family to walk before reaching a landing just west of either of the children's palm trees. On this landing, we had outdoor furniture looking out over the beach where we could see the sun setting into the water--a breathtaking sight that none of us ever got tired of seeing. ------- Chapter 25 "And you know that peace can only be won, when we've blown 'em all to kingdom come!" It was early 1992 and Aimee was tending her garden. It was just the two of us there, and I noticed that some things were different. First, Dawn wasn't with Aimee. This was unusual in and of itself; Dawn seemed to be a permanent fixture around Aimee when she was tending her garden, recently. Second, Aimee wasn't singing. Third, and most striking: Aimee wasn't really gardening, either. She was just kneeling on her little plastic mat, looking very concerned. "Jim, I need to speak with you," Aimee said as I approached her. "Anything, Precious!" I couldn't think of too many things that would bother Aimee. Maybe Aimee wanted to talk about her lack of success in conceiving. I had been wanting to talk with her about it for a while, and thought that Aimee would finally be opening up to me about it. The fact that Dawn wasn't around would make things easier; I didn't know how to talk about "adult" things with Dawn around, although I did try, even if my attempts usually blew up in my face. Aimee didn't answer immediately. "What's bothering you, Precious?" I prodded. Aimee looked at me and frowned. "Something is about to happen." Those words gave my stomach a queasy feeling. "Can you tell me what?" I asked carefully. "Not exactly." That was not very helpful. I had learned to trust when Aimee had these feelings, though. "Can you tell me anything?" I asked. "For some reason, I've been thinking about how things have settled down," Aimee said. "I can still remember when we were being pursued, and then, all of a sudden, there was no longer any interest." I nodded. "I remember wanting to take a wait and see attitude," I agreed. "So far, nothing ever came of it. We can now move freely around the country--and even out of it." Aimee nodded. "I'm starting to get the old feelings again, but they're different." Rather than be worried, I decided to tackle this head on. "Let's assume your suspicions are correct," I suggested. "Let's say that we're being followed again." "All right," Aimee agreed. "Mary hasn't noticed anybody," I pointed out. "Maybe the people following us know better than to follow Mary again." I nodded. "The big question, then, is: Why are they following us?" Aimee nodded. "That's the problem. If what we were told is true, there should be nobody interested in us right now. Besides, I also have a feeling that the people following us aren't entirely the same ones as before." A voice asked, "What's up?" startling the two of us. The voice belonged to Mary. It was unusual for Mary or any of the other women to be in the garden when Aimee was tending it. Mary had a glass of lemonade and was topless; she looked as if she were heading for the landing by the beach. "Can you help us with a puzzle?" I asked. "Sure," Mary said. She looked surprised to being invited into our conversation. I explained to Mary about Aimee's feelings. Mary's face turned to steel as she considered it. "We need to act quickly," Mary said. "How?" I asked. "I didn't like running from the people following us before, and I won't have Dawn and James put in danger now." I noticed how Mary only included the children in her list of priorities. "All right," I agreed. "What do we do?" "We find out who is following us, and follow them back to their source." I didn't like the way Mary looked when she said that. ------- I slept with Aimee that night. She was very worried. As the night wore on, even when she was asleep, I saw Aimee shiver in fright. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen soon. I knew instinctively that Mary's solution about a war of attrition would be messy: keep on piling up bodies until somebody comes to claim them. It had the advantage of being simple and effective. It was also patently illegal, unethical, and was bound to get us noticed by more people than just the ones following us. That sort of plan would also have whomever was coming after us do so with bigger guns than we had. It was not a good solution nor was it a workable one. I finally managed to close my eyes and have sleep descend upon me. "Jim! Wake up!" It was Aimee shaking me. I sighed. I had just gone to sleep. "Don't sleep, Jim!" "What's up?" I asked, a bit disturbed that Aimee woke me up. "You're the key to this, not Mary." "Huh?" "Mary's way is to attack them where they are strongest. She may be successful to a point, but eventually, her methods will be unsuccessful." I had already come to that conclusion. "So?" "We must instead attack them where they are weak." "How?" "You need to exploit their big weakness. Their lack of knowledge is their weakness, Jim! It will work!" "Their lack of knowledge?" "Yes. I know that their ignorance is their big weakness." "OK," I said, feeling very tired. "Let me sleep on it..." "No! Sleeping is your particular weakness!" Suddenly, Aimee's words hit me with their simple truth. She was right! I sighed. "Where is June sleeping tonight?" "Mary was going to sleep with her, but I remember that June is with Debbie tonight," Aimee said. "They are in June's room... Rose." "Get June, and have her meet me in the atrium," I said, a plan starting to come together in my mind. "June and I need to talk... alone. I need you to talk with Mary. If our pursuers' lack of knowledge is their weakness, then Mary can be a good part of that weakness." I looked at the worried Polynesian. "And Aimee?" "Yes, Master?" "How long do we have?" I asked. Aimee thought very hard. After a couple of minutes, she answered, "Twelve hours or less. It might be more, but I am thinking that it will be sooner rather than later." Shit. I wished Aimee's talent for spotting trouble would have given us some more leeway. It was no use worrying about that now, though. I had come up with a germ of an idea, but I needed to work with June on it. I then asked Aimee to do the most dangerous thing that I have asked anybody ever to do. "If you say so, Master," Aimee said, frowning. She did not look happy at my request. ------- I walked slowly downstairs to the atrium. June was already downstairs, having used the back stairs. She looked confused. "What's up, Jim?" I moved close to June and whispered, "June, do you remember how you got me out of that place in my head where you told me that I hide?" June nodded, whispering as well. "I just told you to blink." "Do you think you'll be able to do it again?" "Why?" "Aimee is getting a feeling that things are going to get a little weird here," I explained. "She told me that sleeping was my weakness, which got me to thinking. You have seen the actual danger of me sleeping, and only the two of us--and maybe Aimee--know about it. I think I figured a way to turn that weakness into a strength. Aimee tells me that we have less than twelve hours, so they will probably hit us when they think we're all sleeping. Most likely first thing in the morning. That would be my plan." "And you want me to help you out if that happens?" June asked. "Yes." "Of course," June agreed. "You'll have to ignore what is going on around you," I warned June. "Aimee told me that sleeping is my weakness. Aimee didn't mention any other danger to me. Please remember that." "All right," June said. "Are you carrying?" I asked. "I felt it might be necessary for some reason when I was called out of bed so early in the morning." "Good. If you need to do something, do it quietly." June looked at me and then understood. She nodded. ------- A couple of hours later, Aimee found me in the atrium. "Jim, it's going to happen in less than an hour," she whispered. "I figured that," I whispered back. "You need to get upstairs and make sure that Mary, Dawn, and James are in the Orchid Room. Send Debbie down here." "Debbie? Not Mary?" June asked. I smiled at June. "Debbie," I repeated. "I have an idea for something and Debbie would be perfect." Aimee had already left. She did not wish us luck, nor did she say good-bye. These were both very, very good omens. "What's up?" Debbie asked, coming down the stairs, feeling groggy. I whispered my response. "Shh, quiet. If James is hungry, Aimee can feed him from the mini kitchen in the Orchid room. Please stay down here with us." "What's going on?" Debbie whispered back. "Everybody is wound up tight as a string!" "We almost screwed up royally," I said. "People are still watching us." "Shit! What's happening now?" "Aimee says it's about to come to a head." Debbie looked a bit frightened. "Shouldn't Mary be here instead of me?" "No. You are the one I need here. Mary is upstairs with Aimee, Dawn, and James. If my plan fails, Mary will prevent anything from happening to the rest of the family. There are two stairways, but Mary can position herself so that she can defend both. She's a dead shot with both hands, so I imagine she has two automatics with her. The circuit breaker for the dumbwaiter has been off, so that can't be used easily. Mary will prevent anything from happening upstairs. The children are paramount--to us and especially to Mary. Trust me, we need Mary upstairs with the children." Debbie didn't understand my reasoning, but at least I had the air of command that my training had instilled into me. There was still some time. "Debbie, are you feeling tired?" "Huh?" Debbie asked. "Um, yeah..." She yawned. "Good," I said, entering her mind. "I want you to go to sleep." "What... ?" I signaled to June, and then I started talking softly to Debbie, punctuating my words with powerful mental probes into Debbie's mind. I needed her to feel tired, tired, tired... Debbie started to nod off. "Everything is normal, Debbie," I said. "Nothing is going to go wrong. Everything is under control..." It took a few minutes, but then I felt it. There was an air of sleepiness and confidence that started wafting through the room. June and I quickly moved Debbie to a couch in the atrium that was close to the approach to the stairway. It looked like she fell asleep on the couch. It was easy to see her from the front door. It made sense that this would be the initial point of entry. I had experienced Debbie's infectious moods for nearly four years, and had come up with bit of a defense against it. I quickly taught June the trick mentally, as I saw her start to succumb to Debbie's exhaustion radiation. As I did that, I kept pushing the thought of tiredness into Debbie's mind. Tiredness and confidence. I needed the exhaustion to be complete. The strain was getting too much for me... I felt myself giving in to the slumber myself... "Jim!" The voice came from within my mind. I looked around and I was on a lonely road. Shit! "Open your eyes!" I opened my eyes, and I was now in the kitchen. June had pulled me far away from Debbie. The moods and emotions that June and I had implanted into Debbie's mind were far stronger than I had ever encountered, and I almost succumbed myself, even knowing that the emotions were there. Aimee had told me that the people after us weren't entirely the same as before. If that were so, then there was a good chance that these people probably had more than a suspicion about our powers. My hope, then, was that the person or persons that came through the front door would include at least an Empath or two. If so, the thoughts that Debbie was emanating would probably knock him or her down before they realized it. Due to June's and my continuous strengthening of Debbie's emotional transmissions, maybe even non-Empaths would feel it. That was my hope. When Aimee convinced me that we were once again being followed, I realized that it could only be William Voder. He knew our secret. He also insinuated that he felt Debbie's emotional broadcasts. I had realized in the few years since that it was mainly Empaths that felt Debbie's radiations. That meant that William was one of us, despite his continued denials. His denial of any ability was how he tried to convince me that he wasn't interested in the powers, except academically. If he was indeed an Empath, it followed that he did have more than a passing interest in our situation and our abilities. How could I have been so trusting? Mary never really trusted him, and I now realize that he never really got close to Mary. Of course, there was no use crying over spilled milk. We just needed to clean it up and move on. Another thing that I had realized was that William had been tracking us all along. He had known when we returned to Falls Church, and he gave us a package that contained a new alias for June. How could he have known June's elevated status in our family if he hadn't been monitoring us somehow? How many other clues had I carelessly ignored in the last few years? "Master," I heard Aimee's voice in my mind. "Yes, Precious?" I sent back to her. "The back door is unsafe. The danger is different there." "Thank you, Aimee," I said. Why hadn't I thought of the back door? I started to improvise a secondary plan, and came up with an interesting diversion. The connection to Aimee broke. I felt bolstered by Aimee's confidence, hoping it wasn't the false confidence that Debbie was exuding. I signaled for June to head out of the kitchen toward the back. There was a chair in the laundry room that would come in handy. I felt a foreign presence somewhere nearby. I knew it wasn't any of the people that I lived with. Some part of my mind indicated that I had felt that particular presence somewhere before. Ah... Patricia! She's part of this! I pictured her in my mind's eye. Was she an Empath? Perhaps. Aimee didn't pick up on it when she talked with her, but she had come back from her meeting with doubts about her. Patricia was getting closer. I probed the outside of her mind and I saw something very familiar. Inwardly, a part of me was laughing. This was so funny! "June?" I whispered. "What?" "Do you remember how we got Debbie to go to sleep? How we pushed the thoughts into her mind?" "Yes?" "Can you try to do that when I ask you to? Push a single powerful thought into somebody's mind? There's somebody just outside the back door." "What thought?" "It will be easy. Horniness." "Huh?" "Trust me." "I'll try." "Quick... move back a few feet do what I tell you to do!" I whispered. "Meet me on that lonely road." "Huh?" June asked. "Just do it!" I said. June moved back, and stared at me. I sat on the chair. Patricia was so close now. I could feel the beginnings of a very weak mind probe. I closed my eyes. It was all up to June, now. I took a deep breath... I was now walking down a lonely road... the moon was out and the stars were of a familiar pattern. Suddenly, June appeared on the road. "Blink your eyes!" "Not yet, June. Stay with me. We're dead to the world of Empaths right now." "There are people nearby!" "People will think we're unconscious." "When should I project the horniness?" "After we leave here. You'll feel the horniness, and that will be your cue," I smiled. "There are people nearby," June said. "There are at least four people unconscious in the foyer and in the atrium." "How can you tell?" "I don't know how. I just know!" June sounded frustrated. "Let's wait a little bit more. How many are near me?" "One female." "Her name is Patricia. She's the private investigator that was following us at one time." "She seems confused." "All right. Get back into your own mind and wait for me," I said. I blinked. "June!" I called out, ignoring the Polynesian woman that was near me. "Suck me now!" My tone was commanding. My eyes were open but unfocused. June moved quickly between my legs. She already had her robe off and placed it on a pile between my legs before kneeling on it. June was extremely horny, as she is every time I give her an order like that. Patricia looked at us, confused. I entered just the periphery of Patricia's mind. I could feel the horniness that June and I projected into her, and despite the danger, my member hardened. I could feel Patricia's envy... deep down, she was a submissive. I had recognized the similarity to June when I had probed her mind when she was outside. Patricia secretly loved to be ordered like I had just ordered June. A man suddenly entered the laundry room, and looked at the impossible scene in front of him. His weapon was already cocked. He raised his arm... June's right arm moved like lightning, pulling the knife from its location within her robe underneath her and into the bicep of the man holding the gun. A shot exploded! My eyes widened, surprised that a shot had gotten off. June was not slow with a knife or any other deadly weapon. When my eyes focused, I saw that Mary was behind the man in the kitchen. Apparently, she came down the back stairs. She had a smoking gun in her hand, a bit higher than the center of the mass of his head. The man was still standing, startled by the explosion and the fact that his arm was bleeding profusely. He had dropped the gun as his the muscles in his upper arm stopped working. June had another, identical knife pointed at the man's groin. "Mary missed!" June whispered, incredulously. I didn't answer. Patricia had her hands in the air, afraid to let them go anywhere near her weapon. "Everybody is accounted for," Aimee projected to me. "There was one other person, but that person drove away before the people entered the front door." "Fine. Wait before coming downstairs. I'll send June in to take care of the men in the atrium." June did as I silently directed. Mary had picked up the intruder's gun, and also disarmed Patricia. She looked at me, confused. I just smiled at Mary. "Clear!" June said in my mind. I sent a message for Aimee to come downstairs with as many pairs of pantyhose as she could find, but to watch out for Debbie's emotional broadcast. "Be careful, Aimee, Debbie is radiating exhaustion!" Aimee told me she understood. It was lucky we were in the laundry room. There was a cabinet that had some rags in it. I got one and started to apply direct pressure on the wounded man's bleeding arm. ------- Apparently, every person that was sent into our house was an Empath. Patricia was the weakest, but she was to come in from the back and to stay there and avoid trouble. Her job was to make sure nobody escaped. Nobody had anticipated my using Debbie as the human equivalent of an ultrasonic weapon--walk into the room and find yourself almost immediately unconscious. Since Debbie radiated emotions naturally, the confidence that she emanated was felt first, probably while they were still outside the house. Our would-be attackers thought that their plan was going perfect. Once they entered the doorway, however, the urge to sleep deeply was too consuming... all but one collapsed quite suddenly. The one other saw what was happening and managed to get out of Debbie's range. Debbie continued to lay there; she was always a difficult person to arouse from a sleep. That was something that these men would all share that day. Patricia entered the house from the back and saw me, apparently unconscious with no visible signs of life other than a steady and deep breathing. A probe of my mind didn't show any signs of life at all. Patricia also noticed June nearby, but she, too, was dead to the world. All of a sudden, Patricia heard my voice come out of nowhere... and everywhere... My voice reverberated throughout Patricia's body, and almost immediately afterward, she felt it ripple through the nerve endings of her sexual organs. The rippling became more and more intense in a manner of milliseconds... Patricia could barely move at all. Patricia felt a desire to be June. To feel the ecstasy that my organ was obviously generating for June... Somebody else came in through the kitchen, but almost immediately, everything shifted and Patricia heard an explosion. She blinked, and saw Mary holding a smoking gun against her accomplice's head. The man had already dropped his gun and his arm was bleeding profusely. Patrice wondered why her accomplice wasn't dead. Everything was happening now, and it was nothing like they had planned. Patricia found herself still unable to move or speak. She was feeling very sexually frustrated... ------- We had six bodies to deal with. Five men and Patricia. They all had radios and weapons, and Mary stripped all of our prisoners--including Patricia--and collected the contents of their pockets. None of them had any identification on them, but she hadn't expected them to have any. When she was finished, she had a number of handguns complete with silencers, all their clothing, their underwear, a collection of six hypodermic syringes, and even a small bottle of chloroform. Mary used one of the men's shirts as a rag, poured the chloroform onto it, and placed it over the noses of each of the unconscious men for a few seconds each, to ensure that they would not wake up any time soon. I saw that the wounded man was pale; he was starting to go into shock. Mary and I moved him so that his head was on the floor and the rest of his body was raised onto the bodies of the other unconscious men. Despite the danger to the wounded man, Mary also chloroformed the wounded man, who didn't even try to struggle. "If he dies, he dies," Mary said, showing the amount of mercy one would expect from a mother toward somebody who had threatened the life of her child. Mary indicated to June that she was to watch over our prisoners and led me into the kitchen. "When did you trick up my gun?" Mary demanded in a whisper. I shook my head. "I didn't. I had it done. I knew that your way of dealing with danger is lethal. Neither Aimee nor I saw that being needed." "Aimee," Mary said. "I never would have suspected." "I needed to keep you from killing somebody." Mary didn't answer, but nodded. "Only the bullet that was in the chamber of those two guns was replaced with a blank," I emphasized. "The rest of the bullets in your guns are live." Mary's eyebrows raised up. "Really?" "It was not my intention to actually endanger Dawn or anybody else," I assured Mary. "Not in a million years. If you killed that guy, there would have been questions. Uncomfortable questions. If things didn't go the way I planned, you would still have a full magazine, minus one bullet. I suspected you might come down when you noticed danger down here and not up there. Believe me, Mary, your way was plan B." "June didn't use her gun," Mary said. "I told her that if she needed to do something, to do it quietly. She had two knives and two guns in her robe. She was quite prepared. My suggestion made her favor her knives instead." "She didn't throw to kill," Mary said. "She managed to disarm him effectively." The fact was, June's throw had nearly severed the man's arm completely. The rags that we had used to stem his bleeding had been replaced twice, and the current ones were still soaked with blood. Aimee had reluctantly applied a tourniquet close to the shoulder to finally stem the bleeding. The man would probably lose his arm, but he did pull a gun on us. Mary nodded. There were a few moments of silence. Finally, Mary said, "You were right. Plan A worked." Mary left the kitchen. I could tell that Mary wasn't happy, although I think that she would have regretted it if she had to kill somebody. I knew that it was not within Mary's psyche to stay upstairs and protect the children as a backup plan. That's why I had Aimee replace that chambered bullet in Mary's favorite guns with blanks from June's room. I'll never know exactly how Aimee managed to get to Mary's guns--I knew that Mary had been keyed up ever since we had that conversation the previous day. I also know that there would be no way on earth that I would be able to get an empty cartridge into Mary's gun ever again. I hoped that I would never have a need to do so. ------- Each of the men were still unconscious. Patricia was bound and on her stomach. "Is what I suspect true about you and William Voder?" I whispered to Patricia, knowing the answer. Patricia didn't hesitate, but nodded her head. I turned her over, and she blushed red with embarrassment over her nakedness. I wasn't sure how much of the horniness that June and I had projected into her was still there, but I knew that she had a nudity taboo. I pulled her gag down. "Mr. Voder is your father?" I asked in a low voice. Patricia realized that I knew that the house was probably bugged. I saw her consider yelling out, but I projected terrible fear into her mind. She looked at me, wide eyed. "I was adopted when I was fifteen," she finally whispered. "I only learned why afterward." "Tell William that if we see anybody else that we suspect might be from him, we'll send Mary on a search and destroy mission. You could not have picked a worse enemy to have. You've threatened her daughter. Mary will kill you, him, and anybody else that's involved without so much as a second thought. She wouldn't mind doing it now." "We had no intention of killing your children," Patricia said, looking past me to where Mary was standing behind me. I knew Mary well enough that what Patricia saw in Mary's eyes was even scarier than what I had just told her. "Our plan is to dump you somewhere and alert your father. We will not kill you this time, but I make no such promise if we ever see you or your partners again. Other than your driver, are there any others?" Patricia hesitated when she realized we knew about her driver, and I heard movement behind me. There was the cold metal click of the safety being released from a gun. Mary was very good at getting somebody to cooperate. "Just the driver." "Is he or your father monitoring the bugs in this place?" "I am not sure," Patricia said. I entered her mind and saw that this was the truth. Patricia had no idea. "What's the all clear signal?" "'Bronco Pickup' and two numbers. The first is total dead, and the second is total wounded. The panic signal is 'Family Down.'" It made sense. "Where is the pick up point?" "Your driveway." "We're going to have you call your man in," I said. "You do realize that it will be impossible for you to betray us, do you not?" Patricia nodded. I turned to Mary, and Mary picked up one of the radios. I entered Patricia's mind. Just for good measure, I started pushing some extra fear into her mind. "Bronco Pickup Zero Zero," Patricia said into her microphone, her voice shaking a bit. A voice was heard over the radio. "Roger, Patricia, two minutes." "Roger and out." I unbound Patricia and told her to put on her outer clothes. She did so, and remained embarrassed as Mary and I watched her dress. Mary took some rope and tied false knots that made it look like June was completely bound. June had both of her knives hidden in the sleeves of her robe. Mary was dressed in one of the dark outfits that one of the men wore, with her hair up in a dark hat. The pants were a tight fit. Next, she did a false binding on me. I entered June's mind and said, "Meet me on the lonely road." June understood, and we both sat down on the floor. I was on that lonely road and saw June. I could hear faint crying in the background. "What is that crying?" "You can hear that?" June asked. "Yes," I said, confused. "You've never heard it before, Master," June said. "That wailing never stops whenever I'm here." She was about to say something else when she suddenly said, "Patricia has picked me up, and Mary has you. We are being led outside." "All right. Tell me to blink if you sense any trouble." "Will do. We're walking to the driveway. There's a pickup truck approaching, no headlights." I saw June looking concerned, but she didn't tell me to do anything. All of a sudden, she disappeared. What happened to June? Shit! June woke up! I blinked. I was in Mary's arms. June and Mary had two sets of guns on both the driver and Patricia. I felt June enter my mind. "Sorry, Master. I forgot to tell you..." "No problem," I assured June. Mary had the man's radio, and then pressed the chloroform rag against the man's face. He crumbled to the ground. I turned to Patricia. "Thank you, Patricia. You've helped our family, and my promise is that we won't kill you... this time. Remember my other promise, though." "If my father comes after you again, I will not be a party to it." "If your father comes after us again, your life will still be in danger," Mary pointed out. "Remember that. I know your face, and I will beat down the doors of hell as I try to find you." I nodded in agreement. "It is your job to convince your father that it will cost him too much to get us," I warned. Patricia nodded. She was staring at Mary, her fear elevated. The driver had a pickup truck and the engine was still running. It was convenient, so Mary, June, and I put all the male bodies into the cargo area. We put a tarp on top of them, and Mary got into the back with the rag and chloroform to make sure that none of them woke up too soon. June took the driver's seat, and I put Patricia between June and me. June backed out of the driveway, and got on the main road and headed south. I showed Patricia the syringes. "Phenobarbital?" I asked. Patricia nodded. "How long will somebody be out on one of these doses?" "Eight hours minimum." My blood ran cold. There were six syringes and only five adults in our house. Was one of the syringes supposed to be shared between Dawn and James? "We have seven people and only six doses," I said, putting that thought behind me. "Do you prefer the sleeping potion or the chloroform?" Patricia hesitated. "I have an allergic reaction to most barbiturates." "Chloroform. You will wake up with a headache," I said. Patricia simply nodded. We drove for about an hour until we reached Hana on the east coast of Maui. We found a dense forest along a long stretch of highway. It was early enough in the morning that the road was still mostly deserted. June pulled off the road, and as far into the dense brush as she could. Debbie, Aimee, Dawn, and James, who were behind us, passed us in Debbie's Land Cruiser. They had instructions to return to this exact point in twenty minutes, pointing in the other direction. Mary, June, and even Patricia helped me get the men out of the back of the truck. Mary wasn't particularly gentle with any of them, and after June saw this, she rough handled the man she was dragging as well. Only the wounded man got any modicum of compassion. Mary and I tied all the men to trees, while June went back to the pickup. One by one, Mary injected a syringe into each man. "Patricia," I said. "You will have to leave Maui. I'd suggest you leave Hawaii for good as well, but as long as we never see you again, it doesn't matter to me where you go. You know where Debbie has property, so you know basically where you don't want to be." Patricia said, "I understand." "I'm sorry your father chose it to be this way. He seemed like a nice person when we met him." Patricia sighed. "I know him better than you. He had been working on this project for years before I even met him, and it was Debbie's father that forced him to leave the military. He's consumed with this project. He's spent tens of millions of dollars." "It seems that he has his Zulu Squad," I said. "Six men and one woman is not my idea of a Utopia," Patricia said, her face disgusted. "He knows my weakness." I shrugged. "Your submissiveness?" I asked, smiling. "I felt that within you before you even entered the house." "I didn't feel you enter my mind," Patricia said. "I knew you had when you told me that you knew about my father, but I never felt it. How did you knock out the men?" "You know better than to ask such questions." "I'm truly sorry that I was a part of this," Patricia said. Once again, I shrugged. "You chose your side yourself." "I'm switching sides," Patricia said. "I mean, I know you don't want me, and I don't blame you. However, Hawaii is my home. I'm not going to Silver Spring." I shrugged. June came back. "The pickup is fixed." "What?" Patricia asked, confused. June showed her the distributor cap that she removed from the engine. "It's not going very far without this. I hid the battery as well." I laughed. I think Patricia had wanted us to leave her the pickup so she could escape from her father. "Mary, June, let's take a vote," I said. "Patricia wants to switch sides. She's not joining us, but she doesn't want to end up a plaything for six men that she doesn't seem to like." I looked at Patricia. "Is that correct?" "Yes," Patricia said, her eyes cast down. Mary and June looked at me. I knew that neither one trusted Patricia, but I had been within Patricia's mind. I knew that she was serious. The two women must have read something on my face. "Whatever you choose," June said. "Same here," added Mary. I sighed. "Do you have Aimee's email address?" I asked Patricia. Patricia nodded. "You'll have to work out your own transportation this morning," I said. "Let Aimee know where you are and we'll avoid your location. If you need to travel, just let us know in advance. If we see you around..." "I understand," Patricia said, sounding hopeful. "If my father tries again, you'll also know where I am." She sighed in resignation. "If I don't report in to Aimee, I'm dead, and I could be dead even if I do report. May I stay on Maui?" "No," said Mary, firmly. I shook my head. "It's not a good idea." Patricia sighed. "I'll need time to move." Mary gave her a stern look. "If I see you on Maui, you will die." Patricia didn't answer. I heard Debbie's Land Cruiser on the road outside the forest. Mary and June headed out of the forest. "Patricia," I said softly. "You are the first woman that I met with the gift that I didn't fall in love with. You are a pretty woman, and I'm sorry it has to end this way. You are a danger to our family, even if you manage to disassociate yourself from your father. I'm truly sorry to have to say this, but this is a final good-bye. I hope that I never see you again." "I'm sorry, Captain Montgomery," Patricia said, tears in her eyes. "I'm so ashamed of how I allowed my father to manipulate me. I wish I could make it up to you." "You can," I said. "Never see us again." I turned my back on Patricia and walked slowly back to the rest of my family. Did I ever tell you that I hate to see a female cry? Patricia's sobs haunted me for months afterward. ------- Nobody said anything at all on the hour long trip back to the shack. I think they could all feel the emotional turmoil that was consuming me. As we pulled into the driveway, I put my emotions aside and wondered if there were people that had infiltrated our home while we were gone. If so, Patricia had not known about them. I looked at Aimee, but she didn't seem to have any sense of foreboding. Even so, June left the car running, and Aimee, Debbie, Dawn, and James remained in the Land Cruiser. Mary, June, and I went inside the house. We checked everywhere, and the three of us probed with our minds to search for any foreign presence. We didn't find anything. I sent a message to Aimee in the car, and I heard the engine turn off. A few minutes later, the four of them entered the house. "Is it over?" Debbie asked, the first time that anybody had spoken in a normal volume since the whole ordeal began. "As over as it can be, at least for now." Aimee went into the den and onto one of the computers. She sent an email message to William Voder explaining where his "hit team" could be found. She also repeated the threat that I had personally given to Patricia, since there was a chance that Patricia might not be sending messages to her father any time soon. If William was smart, he'd get his Empath team picked up and out of the state as quickly as possible. ------- The four women and I were taking a walk in Aimee's Garden, discussing what had happened. I figured that Aimee tended this garden nearly every day, and she would have noticed any listening devices there if somebody had managed to install any. "You feel sorry for Patricia," Aimee said. "Not really," I answered. "There's a part of me that wanted to invite her in, but it would have been unworkable. She had already betrayed our family, and forgiving a betrayer is giving permission for that person to betray us again. I know Mary would never accept her, and that makes it impossible. Any member of our family must be an equal member." Mary nodded, but didn't say anything. "In addition, having Patricia here would always be a temptation for William Voder to attempt to 'rescue' her. He could tell the authorities that we were a cult and that she was brainwashed." "She's an adult," June said. "The fact that Mary will never forgive her is enough to prevent her from being a part here. I could never accept somebody that can be seen as endangering the life of my family." "What did they want with us?" Debbie asked. "We were the experiment that Larson never had the opportunity to perform," I answered. "What happens when a bunch of Empaths live together in close quarters who know about their powers?" "Zulu Squad," Mary said. "Yup." "From what I got from the guy that June wounded and from Patricia, the orders were to kill Mary if necessary and capture the rest of us alive." Aimee shuddered, hating the thought of murder. "What happens now?" June asked. "It's a Mexican standoff, like the Cold War that just ended," I said. "They can take us out, and we can expose him. Neither of us wants to take the risk. Besides, it's obvious that Voder already has an Empathic goon squad. He's only a couple of years behind the family that we've already created. They have six people, even if they are all male." Mary turned to Aimee. "Is the danger gone?" "Yes," Aimee said, softly. "Will it come back?" I wished Mary hadn't asked this in front of everybody. "Danger can always come back," Aimee answered, slowly. "The best we can do is make it cost too much for them to be able to get us easily. I agree with Jim's reasoning about that." Everybody nodded, including Mary. "Jim?" Debbie said, softly. "Yes, Radio?" "I wasn't aware of what you were doing this morning in the atrium. However, I have the most splitting headache that I've ever had in my life. Warn me before pushing thoughts that strongly into my head again, OK?" "I'm sorry, dear," I said, and I kissed Debbie. "So, Voder was Doctor Larson," Mary said, getting back to what I had figured out. "The story about him dying was just that... a story." "Most likely," I said to Mary. "If he wasn't Larson, then he was the person that started Larson on his path. He was just as bad." "And the rest of them?" Mary asked. "Who cares? Only Voder knows," I answered. "Aimee was right. His weakness was his lack of knowledge. June and I knew it was possible for us to appear dead to other Empaths. I had begged June never to tell anybody about that, and she didn't. Maybe I had my suspicions then, but not making it general knowledge kept Voder from finding out. I also noticed that, unlike me, June was aware of her physical surroundings when she was in my dream. Voder knew that Debbie radiated emotions, but never suspected that she could be used offensively in the manner that I did. Finally, nobody ever suspected that June would be as effective a bodyguard as Mary could be." Aimee said to Mary. "Jim and I knew that your plan--plan B--would be to attack Voder where he was strongest. No matter how good you and June are, you are only two people. He could hire dozens of people to overwhelm you. Instead, Jim attacked his weakness: he never really understood that the gifts manifest themselves differently to different people. No two people seem to have exactly the same gifts." Mary added. I nodded as well. Finally, I added, "Patricia indicated that parts of our family compound are bugged, and we'll need to get the entire property swept again very soon. We should use a different company than last time. I suspect that the company we used might have been paid by Voder to actually bug our place for him." My last comment drew surprise in everybody except Mary, who simply nodded. "That's how I would have done it. I'll watch them this time." ------- Aimee and I spent that night together. "You didn't tell them everything." "No," I said. "Mary suspects, but she's angry that I kept her for plan B." "There was never any plan B," Aimee said. I nodded. "Their instructions were to take Mary down. Even if they did so, she would have gotten many of them. I've seen her fight--Mary doesn't give an inch even to June, who she thinks of as a sister. However, they wouldn't have hurt the children or you. If I were them and I didn't care about casualties, I would have had more than handguns and hypos. Grenades, booby traps, and other things that only Mary could imagine would have been in my arsenal." Aimee sighed. "Mary's anger blinds her to the reality." "I refuse to allow my daughter to be without a mother," I said. "Their orders were to kill Mary, and I can only imagine how they would do that. When I realized it was Voder, I also knew that he knew Mary's training, since he had told me about it. I figured that at least one of those goons would have had to be at least her equal--probably better. I was not willing to risk that. I love Mary too much. There was only one reason why they wanted us, and killing us would destroy what he wanted. The only person in danger of being killed was Mary." Aimee was very quiet for a few moments. She then said, "I think Mary never thought that she'd need a person to save her. You did more than just save the family, Jim. You saved Mary's life." I sighed. "I don't think Mary sees it that way." "June is with her tonight," Aimee said. "June knows. She shares most of your thoughts when she invades your dream." "I know. It's easy for June to get beyond a person's defenses." "June and you seem to be able to do that. You did it with Voder's goon squad." "I guess," I said. "The army lost a good leader when Mary hit you with that jeep." "I doubt that I would have been leading much, if Larson or Voder or whomever had their way with me." "I hope this is over," Aimee said softly. "So do I," I said. The two of us kissed for a few moment. "You still think of Patricia," Aimee said, very quietly. I finally shook my head. "No, Aimee. I'm done thinking of her. I told her to keep in touch with you so we know her location at all times. I just want to avoid any situation where we could cross paths. Please keep her location confidential, Aimee. I don't want to know where she is, and I don't want Mary to ever know or find out, either." Aimee nodded. "Your heart is too large, Master. You do love Patricia. Even now, you wish to protect her." I shook my head, but Aimee could feel the tears on my face. We caressed each other and fell asleep. There was no moon nor any stars in my dreams, and I hoped there never would be a necessity for them to ever appear in my dreams again. ------- Mary did forgive me, the very next day. In fact, she entered the room where Aimee and I were still sleeping and inserted herself between us. "I'm sorry, Jim," Mary said. "I understand, now." I didn't answer. I just rolled on top of Mary, and we made love. Surprisingly, Aimee didn't leave the bed. She just lay next to us, her hands touching us as Mary and I made love. "You saved my life, Jim," Mary said, tears flowing down her face. "We all saved the family, Mary," I said. "You helped us with the person that June disabled. Even if the bullet you fired was a blank, he realized he was in your sights and very close. He was scared to death of you, Mary. Anyway, if I hadn't had your bullet replaced, you would have killed that man." Aimee added, "You did save the family, Mary. Mr. Voder was so focused on trying to defeat you that he didn't consider anybody else to be a real threat. You are the one that trained June." Mary didn't answer, but nodded instead. We continued to make love. I kissed Mary, and felt the ecstasy that I do when I kiss my wife. I sent my "emotional volcano" into Mary's mind, letting her know that I loved her completely. We were joined about ten minutes later by June, and finally Debbie, who left the children in a playpen in the Orchid room. It was the first time that all five of us participated together in bed. Despite the fact that it was a king sized bed, it was only by clever arrangement of our bodies that we were all able to fit. We all felt sexual bliss, and at the same time, contentment. For the first time since Aimee woke me up the previous day, I actually felt like smiling. During all the sexual activity in our bed, one thought permeated my brain: "I will love you forever, my beloved Master. You have saved the entire family." I refused to take all the credit. I had lots of very talented help. When I woke up there were six of us in the bed. Dawn had managed to escape from the playpen and a "childproof" door in the Orchid room, located us, and snuggled her way between Aimee and me. Dawn has a way of getting around anybody's defenses, it appears. ------- Chapter 26 "Jeremiah was a bull frog! Was a good friend of mine!" William Voder disappeared about a year after the confrontation in Hawaii. During a routine message from Aimee to Mr. Voder, she received an email bounce message that indicated that his account was closed. At around the same time, Aimee received a communication from Patricia that she thought somebody was following her and that she intended to move and would let Aimee know her new location. Aimee never heard from her again. We knew William's secret, and were a danger to him. On the other hand, he knew our secrets as well. Years passed and we didn't hear from William or his goon squad, nor did any of us get any premonitions that we were being followed or that danger was imminent. Aimee told me about Patricia when she was sure that she'd never hear from her again. I felt bad, but that part of my heart had healed in the years that had passed. The fact that we didn't feel any danger didn't mean that we were not constantly on our toes. None of us ever traveled alone, and either June or Mary would always be close to me and the children. During school, the children kept locator devices on them. June giggled that we "lo-jacked" our own kids. It may sound funny, but we were serious about it. June and I got our certification to pilot the jumbo jet, meaning that we no longer needed the services of Mely Rodriguez. As a parting gift, Debbie purchased an estate in Maine near where Mely's family lived and gave it to her ex-employee. She occasionally flies to visit us; she had many good memories working for us and we liked her as well. Mely, who had always been bisexual, eventually married a man she met in Boston named Scott McMahon. They continue to live in Maine and have started a family. I learned to sail, and eventually Debbie bought me a nice sized yacht that is large enough to sleep a couple of dozen people--more than big enough for our growing family. I christened the boat "Precious Cargo," due to the nature of the people it carried, and June and I spend about two months of the year sailing around the islands, always accompanied by some of the other women and/or the kids; a lot of the time, the entire family comes along for a wonderful holiday. ------- In 1995, I finally followed through on my promise to Debbie to visit all the Goddess clubs. It was right after school vacation, and June, Debbie, and I took Dawn and James with us, who were six and four and a half years old. The tour took us four weeks, and we had lots of fun. At our second stop, the club in Memphis, the House Band was playing, and Jim and Kristen saw us in the audience. They asked about the family, and were delighted to find out that our trip was a special one just to visit all their locations. At our next stop in New Orleans, the manager of the club excused himself when we arrived, and Patty Nadal came out and greeted us. Jim and Kristen had called Aimee to get our itinerary and they sent Patty to meet us, and hopefully travel with us. From that point one, we were all given V.I.P. treatment, and our trip became even more enjoyable. Debbie and Patty talked a lot during what we dubbed the "Goddess Tour," and on our return from the Goddess Tour, Debbie purchased some business property near Waikiki Beach. She opened the first (and still the only) franchise of the Island of the Goddess. Aimee and Patty worked together to hire some good people to run the place, ensuring that their rules regarding alcohol, acoustics, and the record companies were followed religiously. The law firm that we keep on retainer made sure the books were accurate and that all applicable laws were obeyed as well. We even hired off-duty policemen to handle security within the place. Jim and Kristen Swift-Crittenhouse now perform at Debbie's Goddess club one week out of the year, usually in the beginning of June. This is usually followed by a visit on Maui where the Swift-Crittenhouse family now has vacation property. Our families have a great time together, which culminates in a weekend trip around the islands on the Precious Cargo. On one of these trips, Jim presented to Dawn a ukulele and Kristen taught her how to play it in about a day. That ukulele is one of Dawn's prized possessions to this day. My money, which had been sitting in a bank in San Diego, was invested in some technology stocks during the 1990s. Aimee had taught me about computers, and I soon invested in Microsoft and Amazon, as well as a couple of other companies that didn't do quite as well. My personal fortune is now close to a million dollars (on paper). When the tech stocks started to sputter near the end of the millennium, I moved everything except Microsoft into certificates of deposit and a small stake in Dawn's name of the Waikiki Isle of the Goddess. Life was enjoyable throughout the 1990s. We made money, obviously, but we also watched Dawn and James grow up. Dawn inherited her mother's seriousness, and anybody can see that she has a single-minded determination to achieve whatever she puts as a goal in front of her. Dawn also has a special relationship with Aimee, and I wondered if Dawn was blessed with any of the gifts that we had. Aimee wouldn't tell me, though, explaining to me that Dawn would tell us herself when the time is right, and it would be wrong for us to push her, as she is still quite young and impressionable. Dawn now speaks three languages almost fluently, learning French from Aimee before she was in the first grade. James, on the other hand, is more of a happy-go-lucky kind of guy, and even when he was just six years old, he had a bevy of girl friends looking after him. Dawn gave James the nickname "J2" (short for James II), which has sort of stuck at school. Despite the fact that James isn't as intelligent as Dawn in his studies, Dawn eagerly helps her cousin, and his high marks attest to both his and Dawn's efforts. He speaks Hawaiian almost as well as Dawn and Aimee--and better than some native islanders. About the time that the children were entering public school, Debbie began teaching both children self-defense three times a week, allowing the two to spar together. The basic tenet of Debbie's instruction is Aimee's philosophy: "The best way to win a fight is to avoid that fight." Of course, before the kids had started their self-defense classes, I took James aside and told him, "J2, if I ever see a mark on Dawn after one of your workouts, I will personally take offense." James, of course, had said, "Papa, I wouldn't hurt Dawn! Besides, Aunt Mary told me the same thing, and I think I'm a little more scared of her!" Together, we laughed. It turned out that my warnings to James were unnecessary. Dawn quite easily demonstrated that she could happily wipe the floor with her younger cousin. In fact, I eventually had to have that same conversation with my daughter! Aimee had tried, repeatedly, to have me learn Hawaiian, since she didn't want the language to die. The best I was able to do was learn a few phrases, and she'd work with me to get the pronunciation correct, since I tended to Anglicize the sounds inappropriately. ------- One Friday in the middle of April, 2000, Aimee found me sitting in the atrium. "When did you say the Cargo is scheduled to leave?" she asked, referring to the family yacht. I shrugged. "I'm guessing the week after next, when school is out for Easter holiday. Dawn and James are raring to go, and it looks like Mary and Debbie are about to give in to their requests, especially since I was having the engine serviced during Prince Kuhio Day at the end of last month. I'd like to make it a family outing... if you wish to come with us." Aimee simply nodded. "I would like to come." I smiled. "Thank you, Precious. I think that will swing Mary and Debbie." For the first time in memory, Aimee didn't smile after I called her that name. Instead, she asked, "May I request you in Sunrise tonight?" Sunrise, of course, was the name of the room that Aimee used. I raised my eyebrows. Usually, the women didn't ask for my services so early in the day--or even ask me at all, for that matter. I had figured that I would be with June that night, but I knew that she wouldn't mind if I postponed her for a day. "Of course, Precious. I'll let June know..." "I've already talked with June," Aimee said. "She has given permission." This was totally unlike Aimee. Since when did Aimee ever need permission? "Sit down, Aimee," I said, pointing to a love seat near the recliner that I was sitting on. Aimee did so, obediently. "What's up?" I asked. Aimee didn't immediately answer. I saw her making up her mind what to tell me. I simply waited. Finally, Aimee answered me. "I intend to conceive tonight. It will be our child." It took a minute or two for Aimee's statement to sink in. "I thought you couldn't..." Aimee shook her head. "I can, and I will, tonight." "You're thirty-six years old, Aimee," I said. "Has Doctor..." "I can, and I will, tonight." Aimee got up and left the atrium. That evening, I appeared in Sunrise. I loved the festive brightness of the room. "Good evening, Precious," I said. "Good evening, Master," Aimee replied. "I'm sorry if I was short with you earlier today, but this is important to me." "Aimee, you don't need to compete with Mary or Debbie..." "No, Master," Aimee said. "It's not that, but this is very, very important to me." I nodded, seeing the pleading look in Aimee's eyes. Usually when I sleep with Aimee, the two of us just hold one another and relax. That night, however, I met a different Aimee, one I hadn't seen since Christmas day over a decade ago. It was an aggressive Aimee, who astounded me that night. We started with what usually is Aimee's favorite insertion position, rear entry with Aimee lying on her stomach with her fanny raised, allowing me easy access. Occasionally, in this position, I find Aimee extremely aroused, as she seems to be very sensitive when my penis rubs against the front wall of her vagina. After an unhurried orgasm, first by Aimee and then by me, Aimee took my cock into her mouth a sucked me until I was hard again. She shifted positions so that we were both on our sides, with Aimee's legs wrapped around my legs, and her arms holding her body very close to mine. I smiled as I relished a kiss of my beloved Aimee. "Ahh," whispered Aimee, her eyes closed in bliss. I continued pumping into her, and I could occasionally feel Aimee's erect nubbin of her clit rubbing against my public hair as I reached maximum penetration for the position that we were in. As I achieved my second orgasm that night, I felt Aimee's presence in my mind. "I will love you forever, Master!" There was something about our intimacy that overwhelmed me. I pulled Aimee tighter to me, and as she opened her eyes, I whispered, "I will love you forever, my precious Aimee." I put every effort into meaning every word of that vow. "I know, Master," was Aimee's silent reply. My eyes filled with tears; I was overcome with emotion. I remember nothing else about that evening; I believe I fell asleep, still coupled to Aimee, feeling loved and loving her as much as I could humanly love a person. The next morning, when I opened my eyes, Aimee was lying next to me. We had uncoupled during the evening. "Thank you, Master. It is done," she whispered. Sometimes, I wished I had Aimee's gift. ------- Aimee was apparently correct. She took a home pregnancy test a few days later, and then went to our family doctor to confirm the diagnosis. She was indeed pregnant. Mary, June, and Debbie were ecstatic, as were Dawn and James. Dawn had been quite young when James was born, and she was now going to have a new cousin born to her favorite aunt. Since Aimee had a smaller build than Mary or Debbie, their old maternity clothes were mostly useless for her. That wasn't really a problem, as Aimee mostly wore muumuus when she was in Makena, and they were always loose around her to begin with. Of course, that didn't stop the women from purchasing maternity clothes for Aimee. June seemed to be the happiest doing so, but even Aimee bought a few clothes, and even some clothes for her baby. When I noticed that most of the baby clothes that Aimee purchased were pink, I knew that Aimee had another premonition, even though she never specifically mentioned it to me. Aimee's body began to show after a couple of months. The other women made sure that her diet was proper for an expectant mother, and you could feel an air of excitement in the shack. When Jim and Kristen brought their family to visit that summer, they all fussed over Aimee. I made a promise to visit their family compound in Chicago the next summer and show off Aimee's new child. Aimee spent a lot of time in private with Kristen, most likely discussing maternal things. Like Mary and Debbie before her, Aimee experienced mood swings, although to a much milder degree. There were some days when she would just look longingly at the Orchid room, which the women were now preparing for Aimee and her unborn daughter (I wasn't the only person that noticed Aimee's choice in baby clothes). There would be a wistful look in her eyes, and every time I would ask her if something was wrong, she'd just look at me and say, quietly, "I will love you forever, Master." I could tell that having her baby was extremely important to Aimee, and her emotional state seemed to bear this out. Unlike Mary and Debbie, there was no time during Aimee's pregnancy when it seemed that she doubted my love for her. Despite this, I would always make it a point to tell Aimee that I loved her, and she'd kiss me deeply in return. A couple of weeks before Christmas, Aimee had June visit a "lactation consultant" (I had never heard of such a thing before). Aimee told June that her mother had a problem nursing Aimee and that Aimee seemed to have the same problem that her mother had, as she hadn't lactated yet. She told June that she'd really appreciate it if June could act as a "wet nurse" in the event that Aimee couldn't generate enough milk for her baby. June actually jumped at the chance to at least experience some of the special joys of motherhood, and she apparently was successful in having lactation induced. It was interesting to see June pump her breasts a few times, although as I mentioned before, I'm not a person that gets a sexual thrill out of a woman lactating. Aimee was very cheerful on Christmas day, and, like every Christmas day since Dawn's first Christmas, Aimee and June met me in the atrium to relive my first sexual experience with June. This year, however, due to Aimee's advanced pregnancy, Aimee didn't ride my cock as she ordered June to kiss the two of us, but rather ordered June to fellate me at the same time that she did. A shared blow job was always wonderful. Aimee and June were both in my mind, and knew what their tongues were doing to the nerve endings on my cock. Aimee started sucking the head of my dick right before I was ready to shoot, and after my orgasm, she and June shared a long kiss, during which Aimee fingered June into a lovely orgasm as they shared my semen between them. Despite the fact that I was hard again after watching the two women, June and Aimee closed my robe over me and quickly pulled on their robes. About a minute after the two women got themselves presentable, Dawn and James were at the top of the stairs. "Daddy!" Dawn said. "Kanaka's been here!" That name is, of course, "Santa" translated into Hawaiian. Neither one of my children really believed in Santa Claus, but they kept up the pretense, mostly for their mothers' benefit. Dawn decided many years ago that any Santa on Hawaii should be respectfully called by his Hawaiian name. I always got a kick how similar that name was to the Jewish holiday Chanukah. "I'll make breakfast first," Aimee said. "Christmas omelets!" "Onions and sausage," June and I said simultaneously, causing the two of us to giggle. My children laughed as well, as they placed their orders for themselves and their mothers. June left with Aimee to help out in the kitchen. "May we come down?" Dawn asked. I felt a bit nervous, wearing only a robe with my children around. Dawn was eleven, and I didn't want her to get improper ideas about her father. "Sure, honey," I said. I knew that one day, somebody would have to have a talk with Dawn about the relationships within the house, if she didn't understand them yet. I found a lighter and lit the pine incense to create a more festive mood in the atrium. Dawn called into the kitchen after she ran downstairs, "Aunt June, Aunt Aimee? May I help with the sausages?" "Me, too!" yelled James. I watched the youngsters dash into the kitchen and I tiptoed upstairs to my changing room to change into my usual outfit of a Hawaiian shirt and slacks. Mary caught me going downstairs. "Merry Christmas, Jim!" I kissed my wife and asked about Debbie, who had been Mary's bed partner the previous night. "Still sound asleep," Mary said. "She'd sleep through a volcano." I laughed at the comment, and went into the Indigo room, where Debbie was passed out in the middle of the bed. There was one sure way to arouse Debbie in the morning. I spread her legs and started licking. "Hmmm," Debbie moaned. "I love the way you wake me up. Are the kids downstairs?" "Yeah, lazy britches," I answered. "They're helping Aimee and June make omelets." "Cheese and onions," Debbie said, automatically. "J2 already has your order," I chuckled. Debbie pretended to wince at the nickname. Actually, she had long ago stopped fighting that name, and secretly liked it. After all, it made her son unique in a special way. That Christmas, there were lots of presents for Aimee, and Dawn noticed that all of the baby clothes were dresses and items for a girl. "You know your Aunt Aimee," I explained to my daughter. "She sees things before they happen." "She could confirm it with an ultra-sound," Dawn pointed out, ever the practical youngster. I sighed. After Aimee's initial diagnosis of pregnancy, she had only visited the doctor once, despite repeated requests from her doctor for follow-up visits. Luckily, Aimee was in a happy mood, and opened all the presents for her and her unborn daughter with delight. It was an enjoyable Christmas for everybody involved. James got his Playstation and some games, and Dawn got some fashions from her Aunt Debbie that I know cost a fortune since they were shipped from designer boutiques in New York and San Francisco. I always hoped that our money wouldn't spoil the children, but neither one seemed to have that air of expectation of having things done for them. I recalled with fondness their insistence on helping out with breakfast and cleaning up afterward. They were pretty good kids. June gave both of my children a special gift of a matching pair of hunting knives. June was going to take the two children to a survival course, which emphasized self-defense and making due on your own. She thought, and apparently their mothers agreed, that this would be fun for the kids, as well as educational, much like the self-defense classes that the kids were still practicing. ------- On the twelfth of January, June and Aimee took a trip to nearby Kanahena. The trip lasted only a few hours, but it had worried me, mostly because of Aimee's pregnant condition. She was due on the nineteenth, although Aimee seemed fixed on the Friday the fourteenth. Almost immediately after they came back, we were on our way to Oahu in advance of Aimee's delivery. June was very reserved and worried about something, but I was mostly fixated on the radiant and lovely Aimee. Of course, Aimee was the one correct about the delivery date (when is she ever wrong?). At three o'clock in the afternoon, after ten hours of labor, Aimee delivered a six pound, ten ounce baby girl. I knew that Aimee's chosen name for the child was Joy Porter. It was at Aimee's insistence that only June and I be in Oahu for her delivery. The other women and the children protested, but the children had school and their parents needed to be home to make sure everything was all right. June was still reserved, and I knew that she had something troubling her mind. I figured that once Aimee delivered her daughter, I'd find out what was bothering June. Even though I wasn't officially the husband of Aimee, the nurse handed Joy to me after the baby was cleaned up. As I held Joy in my arms, I started to sense panic in the delivery room. I looked over at Aimee, whose eyes were open, but who seemed at peace with herself, breathing regularly and steady. The delivery nurse, however, was frantic. "She's still bleeding!" she yelled. Suddenly, medical personnel snapped into action. I looked curiously at Aimee, but her expression didn't change. I felt a calming presence in my mind, and heard the one expression that I heard countless times from Aimee: "I will love you forever, my beloved master." "What's going on?" I said aloud. "Please," an orderly said hurriedly, pushing me away from Aimee's bed. I glanced at June, who had tears in her eyes. "What's going on?" I repeated, only this time, I projected the thought into Aimee's mind. "June knows," Aimee's mind-voice told me. "I told her... I... my spirit..." There was lots of noise and confusion going around me. Joy was in my arms, not crying, but breathing regularly. I projected a thought into June's mind. "What's going on?" "I'm sorry, Jim. Aimee told me in Lahaina, and made me promise not to say anything until tonight." "She's dying," I said, cutting to the chase. "There's nothing that anybody can do for her, Jim. If I could, I'd willingly give my life to save her, but we can't." "Joy... is the white... in the spiral..." I heard Aimee calling within my mind. Was Aimee trying to tell me something? I shook my head at June. The nurses were pushing me further away from Aimee. "Your sister-in-law is experiencing complications," the nurse said. "Can you step outside?" "No!" I insisted, as the nurse attempted to take Joy from my arms. "Don't touch them!" June said, her voice sounding eerily like Mary's and it was menacing enough to make the nurse actually freeze. "That's his niece." After a brief standoff, the nurse allowed me to continue to hold Joy. After all, the baby wasn't fussing, and was probably just another complication in the delivery room at the moment. "I will love you forever, my wonderful family!" I felt that inside me with my entire being. A heart monitor that had recently been attached to Aimee started was beeping ominously and suddenly stopped. "Shit!" yelled the doctor. "She's fibrillating!" More doctors entered the room. One of them looked at June and me and said, "I must ask the two of you to leave." The nurse that had attempted to take Joy from me said, "The room across the hall is not in use. Take your niece in there and wait for me to come back." I shook my head, but June took me by the shoulder and led me out of the room. "Quiet, Jim," June said. "Aimee's in God's hands now." "Aimee doesn't believe in God," I said, quietly. June said quietly. "She doesn't believe in the Judeo-Christian God, but she believes in her own concept of it." I reluctantly handed Joy to June. The tears that I had been trying to hold back started to flow freely. Aimee... my precious Aimee... was dying and I was helpless to do anything about it! June directed me to a chair, and I sat down. "She's dying, June!" "She left us a wonderful present," June said, soothingly, despite the fact that she was also sniffing and her face was as wet as mine. I looked at the lovely Joy, and realized that her mother never held her. Aimee would never nurse this precious bundle... June and I hugged, careful not to crush the baby. Finally, June found a tissue box near the bed in the room, and she moved over to wipe her face. Despite the fact that the box was full, in the end, it was futile. I let the tears fall freely down my face. Next to the box was a telephone. June went back to me and handed me my daughter. She returned to the telephone, picked it up and dialed "O." "Hello, this is June Smythe. I and Jim Montgomery are assisting Aimee Porter in the maternity ward... Yes... May I get an outside line? Thank you." June dialed a number. "This is June Smythe... Yes... The situation you were told about has just happened. I know... I'm sorry, too... Thank you." "What was that?" I asked, confused. "Our lawyers. Aimee has a couple of them here in Oahu to take care of the adoption." June handed me a tissue. I blew my nose, but the tears wouldn't stop. "Adoption?" "Aimee's dead, Jim," June said. "Or she will be very soon. She already made out her will, and she already has the adoption papers worked out. I'm already named Joy's Godmother. Aimee told me the Hawaiian name for that." "Papekema Makuahine," I said, absently, remembering that Dawn called Aimee "Papekema" when they were alone or in the garden. I was in a state of shock. Adoption papers? The reality of the situation made it difficult for me to think. Aimee knew about this? I don't remember when Joy was taken from us and put into the nursery. ------- Aimee was declared dead less than a half hour after her daughter was born. She had a few moments of clarity before she passed away, and she talked with a hospital chaplain that had been called into the room, saying that she intended June to have custody of Joy. June and I were also able to see Aimee during those times, but we had very little time for privacy, and it seemed that Aimee's condition would worsen if she tried to communicate mentally. All I got from her was more babbling about spirals. I had a vision of Aimee descending into a spiral in something that reminded me of a Hitchcock movie. I called the family compound and tearfully gave everybody the news. It took both June and me to convince Mary and Debbie not to pack up and get out to Oahu, but there wasn't much to be done. I'm not sure if Aimee had been lying about her mother having problems lactating, but it was definitely true that she would never generate enough milk for Joy, and in any event, June was able to nurse Joy almost from the first day of her life. It took a few weeks for all the paperwork to be processed and we were told it would take nearly a year for all the legalities to be addressed. Meanwhile, June had temporary custody of Joy Porter, based on the fact that the adoption papers had been filed before Aimee had passed away. There was also the testimony from the chaplain about Aimee's dying request, who had also helpfully filled out the birth certificate for Joy. We would have to endure some rather invasive visits from family services to ascertain whether our family compound is a proper setting for raising children. We'd always been good neighbors, and we had no difficulty in getting testimonials from local businesses and people from our community. That, and some subtle pressure by our attorneys make us expect to be able to tilt the balance of the scales of justice in our favor. For somebody who had prepared for her death, Aimee's will did not mention what she had wanted done with her body. We readily donated any of her body organs that were usable at the hospital, and then had a funeral home on Oahu cremate her remains. The entire family thought it was a good idea to scatter part of her ashes through Aimee's Garden, so a part of her would always be part of her pride and joy. June suggested scattering the rest of her ashes over Hawaii from our Cessna, but in the end, we decided to scatter the rest of her ashes in her beloved Pacific Ocean, in a ceremony attended by all the members of our extended family, including Mely and Scott McMahon and their children. Aimee left each of us personal letters, including the children. I never read any of the ones she left for the others, but I know that it took me quite a long time to read mine, despite its brevity. ------- Dear Jim, Of all the letters I have written, I've kept yours for last. You have been a wonderful father to Dawn and to James, and I know you will be as wonderful and as caring to Joy. Dawn will be entering puberty soon, and I know she is going to need a strong and understanding person with whom she can confide. Please help June as she learns the essence of motherhood. She has desired a child of her own ever since her first night with you, although she has kept that desire a secret from you. June needs your help, as well as help from Mary and Debbie, to get through what I know will be a difficult time for her. I have shared my mind with you more than anybody else in my life, and I know that when you read this, you will probably be extremely sad. Please be assured that I went into this with my eyes open and without any desire to look back. I ask you not to mourn my passing, but to instead celebrate my life. I have known for almost a year that my time was coming to an end, and despite one or two times when I had my doubts as to whether or not I could actually be brave enough to go through this alone, I hope you, of all people, will eventually understand. I am sorry for keeping this a secret from you and the family, and I hope you will eventually understand. You have never been angry that you lost twelve years of your life in a coma, and I have always admired your strength of character. I consider the time that we had together as a family the best years of my life, and also consider you the most influential person within my life, even more so than my aunt. You have always called me "Precious," and I always felt as if I were the most loved person in the world every time you called me that. I am proud that I was able to spend the time I have been able to spend with all of you. You have shown excellent leadership in the running of this family, as well as defending our family when it was in danger, and I need you to continue to lead this family into the path of sunshine and warmth. William Voder is no longer a danger to our family. I know you still think about danger, but I haven't seen anything for the family to worry about. Of course, knowing you, you will rightfully still take precautions, which is probably the best thing to do. Finally, I wish you will know that what I have told you repeatedly has been true ever since I met you, and remains true even now: I will love you forever, my beloved Master. Love always and forever, Aimee ------- Epilogue: May 2001 I still recall with fondness the nights that I would spend in Aimee's company, which often would be the most relaxing nights I have ever spent with a woman. It was something very satisfying, knowing that Aimee was there with me. Nothing needed to be said, nor did we always need to make love. We would just hold each other and could just feel the closeness that we shared. There were other nights as well, when the two of us were alone and I would torture Aimee with her special peacock feather that she kept in the Sunrise room, making her beg for mercy during marathon tickle-fests. I know the other women were often curious about Aimee's screams and laughter, and they may have suspected Aimee's particular fetish (if that is the proper word for it), but nobody ever came into Sunrise during those times, nor did anybody ever ask me about them. I'm always thinking about Aimee. I constantly ask myself what she'd do in any particularly situation. Every night, in my dreams, I hear an echo of her voice making that vow that she constantly made to me. I don't know if it is her spirit or just her wonderful memory, but I'd like to think that there's a little bit of Aimee's spirit still dwelling within me, it makes me feel good and gives me hope that Aimee's thoughts about the afterlife were accurate. I still have Mary, Debbie, and June, and I know that they all love me with a passion and emotion that is consuming, and I try my hardest to make sure that each and every one of them feels as loved by me as I humanly can. I feel that if I can accomplish this, then Aimee's memory is being well served, or, as Aimee would put it, her legacy is being fulfilled. In addition, I have Dawn, James, and our precious bundle of Joy, all of whom I love dearly, and who will jointly carry on our legacy when our time comes to leave this earth. I feel honored that I was able to know Aimee, even for the short amount of time that we had together. She mentioned in her final letter to me that she admired that I never complained about losing twelve years of my life. Well, I did complain, but mostly just to myself, and those "Rip Van Winkle" feelings don't nearly occur as often now. In retrospect, I think that getting to spend twelve years with Aimee more than makes up for any loss that I could feel about my own missing twelve years. I think there is a mystic sense of balance in that--the yin/yang that I think Aimee would appreciate. There is a part of me that would gladly spend another twelve years in another coma if I were to know that I could get to spend another dozen years with Aimee when I woke up. In reality, I would never be so selfish as to devote myself to Aimee in favor of the rest of the family, and I know for certain that Aimee would not approve of such a bargain. Eventually, my time on this earth will be over, and if Aimee's view of the afterlife is correct, we may meet again in whatever form the afterlife takes. I'm still agnostic enough that I'm in no rush to hasten that day, however. I wish that Aimee had trusted me enough to have confided in me about her condition. She had her own reasons for doing things the way she did, and I have never found Aimee to be wrong when making decisions like that, even when I disagree with her. Maybe she knew that I would try to talk her out of it, or try to prevent her death from happening. I don't know how that would have been a bad thing--I mean, if I had told the doctors to be extra vigilant after her delivery, it might have given them some extra time to prevent her death. Would that have been so wrong? ------- Although the entire family took Aimee's death pretty hard, one of the most affected was Dawn, who seemed to have seen in Aimee the influential figure that Aimee's Aunt Tomeii must have been in Aimee's life. Despite many attempts from Mary, Debbie, and June, Dawn hasn't spoken to any of them about her favorite aunt. Eventually, each of the women had a talk with me, and they all separately reached the conclusion that I was probably the one that Dawn will finally talk to, since, aside from Aimee, I seemed to be the person that Dawn had always been closest to. (I was particularly surprised to hear this from Mary, who I considered to be closer to our daughter than I was.) I don't think forcing this particular child to talk about a rather painful memory would be helpful in this case, so I have decided to wait until whenever Dawn decides to open up. I know she'll give me a sign that she wants to talk. This is not procrastination; it's mostly about waiting for when Dawn wants to talk about her. When the right time comes, the two of us will know it. I purchased a butterfly palm seedling for Joy and allowed Dawn to plant it after Dawn showed me a stake that had Joy's name on it in Aimee's handwriting just outside the landing on the western side of Aimee's Garden that overlooked the ocean. Dawn insisted on taking over the maintenance of the garden, tending to it with the same loving care that Aimee used to. Dawn allows me to be with her as she tends the garden. I think she likes my company. James is the only other person that Dawn doesn't mind in the garden as she tends it. It's not like she has forbidden the others entrance, but if too many people surround her there, she just leaves. The women seem to understand that, and were used to Aimee having the same desires. They give Dawn her space, just as I do. Since I'm allowed in the garden with Dawn, I try to help her work it. I love listening to Dawn softly sing songs in Hawaiian as Aimee had done before. If I close my eyes, it feels as if Aimee is with me instead of my oldest daughter. Maybe both of them are really there--if I can think that a part of Aimee's spirit may live within me, there's no reason to think that it cannot live within Dawn as well. Together, Dawn and I tend Aimee's precious orchids. I feel that we both sense the closeness that Aimee shared with each of us, and having each other there eases both our minds. Gardening can be very therapeutic. A month ago, Dawn, James, and I started a project to install an automatic irrigation system to help keep the garden healthy, and Dawn actually seemed happy as we worked together. Before the project was complete, the entire family was working on the project. I saw hope in the women's eyes; Dawn was talking more and seemed to be a bit happier, but she still wasn't talking about Aimee. Dawn has also introduced some more native Hawaiian species into the garden as well, including the lehua taro plant, from which Dawn eventually plans to make poi for our meals. I've suggested that she create an entire section of the garden for vegetables and fruits, remembering Aimee's fondness for them, and Dawn thought it was such a great idea that we now have a little patch for them on the southern side of the garden as well. I am still waiting for the day when Dawn is able to have a long talk with me about her beloved aunt. I have spent a lot of time thinking about what I will tell Dawn about her wonderful and mysterious aunt, and I wonder how much she already knows. As I said, the time is coming soon, I can feel it. Meanwhile, I have written this story as a way of helping me remember everything I can about our family. For you, the reader, there may be some aspects of this story that you will find incredible or unbelievable, such as whether or not the gifts that Aimee talked about and that I describe actually exist. I leave it up to you to decide for yourselves. After all, as Aimee herself once said, they are just stories; most people still think that they are myths. This story was written for one person in particular, and she will read it soon, despite the fact that I left a lot of private things in it. ------- "Papekema used to call me Puanani," Dawn told me as she was pulling out some weeds the other day. I didn't need to ask who Dawn was talking about. Papekema was Dawn's special name for Aimee. It was short for "Papekema Makuahine," which I understood was sort of a bastardized Hawaiian translation for "Godmother." I noticed that this was the first time that Dawn mentioned her favorite aunt since her death. I remembered that I had resolved that I would let Dawn choose her own pace. "I've heard her call you that," I said, carefully. "It means, 'precious flower, '" Dawn explained. I thought Aimee had told me that it actually meant "beautiful flower," but I didn't correct Dawn. Dawn, like most adolescent girls, was having doubts about her body and whether or not she was pretty, and I realized that this might be a place where we could start to talk. However, since I noticed that Dawn substituted the adjective "precious," I figured there might be something else on her mind. Dawn had a very intelligent brain, and never did anything like that without a motive. Aimee always loved me calling her "Precious" and I'm pretty sure that Dawn knew that, so I needed to know what Dawn was thinking. Reading Dawn's mind was completely out of the question, of course. "I've always thought that Puanani was a pretty name," I said, softly. I didn't ask Dawn if she wanted me to call her that. Dawn smiled at me, and once again started to tend the garden. After a few minutes, Dawn started singing in Hawaiian as she once again started to tend the garden. I recognized the tune she was singing from the radio, but I didn't know its name or the lyrics. I listened to Dawn fit the Hawaiian phrases into a song that was originally written in English. She was actually quite good at that, and she really had a very pleasant singing voice. I did notice that Dawn sang the name "Papekema" occasionally, so I knew who she was singing about. I watched my daughter singing the song. Dawn is very pretty, despite her doubts. I bet every father says that about his daughters, but in this particular case, it's true. As I also said, she has a pretty voice. Later on, I found June coming back from a run, and I asked her for some help. "What's up?" asked June. "I'm about to feed Joy." "Can you name this song?" I hummed the haunting tune to June. "Was Dawn singing that?" June asked, surprised. "Yes. In Hawaiian," I answered, surprised that June figured that out so quickly. June frowned. After a few moments, she found her voice. "It's an Elton John song. It's called 'Empty Garden.'" Shit. I remembered the song, now. It was a tribute written after John Lennon's death. For the first time in a long time, I had one of those "Rip Van Winkle" feelings. I had been unconscious when the song was written of course, and John Lennon had been long dead when I woke up. Still, I should have associated the phrase "Puka mai, Papekema!" in the song--it means something like "Hey! Come outside, Godmother!" in English, and is similar to "Hey, hey! Johnny!" in the song. I realized that Dawn's hints are getting less subtle. Luckily, Dawn and I are still best friends. Dawn apparently doesn't consider me a total asshole. At least, not yet. Just a minor asshole that doesn't totally understand Hawaiian. Well, we're all human. ------- Today, I was sitting on my favorite recliner in the atrium listening to the stereo, finishing up the last pages for this story. Dawn was sprawled out on one of the love seats, writing in one of her notebooks, as usual. Debbie, James, and June were in the swimming pool, with Joy asleep in a playpen out by the pool underneath an oversize umbrella to keep the sun from bothering her too much. Mary came downstairs dressed in a bathing suit and passed the two of us in the atrium. "Want to join us in the pool?" Mary asked. I deferred to Dawn, who shook her head and said, "No, thanks, Makuahine!" Mary smiled at her Hawaiian name (literally, "mother"). I noticed that Dawn was using Hawaiian more and more. "I'm almost finished this," I said. "Maybe I'll join you guys later. That bikini looks wonderful on you, Makuahine! Is it new?" Mary's cheeks dimpled as she smiled at the compliment, as well as the fact that I used Dawn's nickname for her. "Flatterer!" she laughed. "I bought this last year." Mary left us alone to our writing. After Mary left, Dawn asked me, "Are Uncle Oogie and Aunt Goddess coming over next month?" "I haven't talked with them since Joy was born," I said delicately, avoiding direct mention of Aimee's death. "I would imagine that they will come over. Would you like to see them at the club?" Dawn looked at me. Since the Goddess Tour, she had never seen the House Band perform. "Could I?" "Of course. I'll work it through Debbie." Dawn gave me a rare smile. "I love Trisha Beth. She's like an older sister to me. Think we could invite her, too?" "I love TB as well, and I think J2 has a crush on her, or he did last summer," I said. "Let me find out the next time I talk to Kristen or Patty." "Lika Peka," Dawn said. "Huh?" I knew a little Hawaiian, but that didn't sound familiar. "'Trisha Beth' in Hawaiian." "Oh." "TB plays almost a dozen instruments now," Dawn said. "I just play the ukulele. I got a letter from her last week." "We have a piano if you want to learn..." "No," Dawn said, firmly. "I think I prefer singing." "Think we can make it a special trip? Opening night with the House Band, just you, me, and J2, with their family as well?" "Mom won't let you go without June or herself." True. I shrugged. "I think we can make an exception." Dawn shook her head. "You aren't allowed to go anywhere without June or Mary. Papekema's rule, and you can't make exceptions to it." I actually heard Aimee's voice talking through Dawn that time. I changed the subject. "You know, Pretty Flower, you sing lovely. Just like Kristen. Think you're ready for the Goddess Circuit?" Dawn gave me another rare smile and shook her head. Dawn had been the featured singer during her school's Christmas concert last year, and I really thought she had a pretty voice. Instead of saying anything, Dawn returned to her writing. A few minutes later, the stereo played a beautiful song by Stevie Nicks. I remembered Kristen singing this song, the last time I saw her perform. As I listened to the song, one part really touched my heart. I stopped writing and looked over to my daughter, who had also stopped writing, and I noticed that she now had tears in her eyes, just like her father. I slowly got up, went over to the love seat, and pulled Dawn close to me. Dawn reacted by throwing her arms around my neck and hugging me tightly. Together, we hugged on the love seat for about fifteen minutes. Neither one of us said a word, not even when Stevie repeated that verse of the song again. I just let Dawn cry on my shoulder, offering my strength to my daughter, and letting her know by my freely flowing tears that I understood how she felt. After all, I love Papekema very much, too. When Dawn and I broke that hug, I noticed Mary, Debbie, and June all standing just out of Dawn's sight in the doorway to the kitchen. None of the women moved to interfere with us, but all three of them had tears in their eyes as well. I don't think any of the women had heard the song, but I had no doubt that they all knew what Dawn and I were feeling. Living with Empaths leaves little privacy, but the women were smart enough to grant it to Dawn. "Thanks, Makuakane," Dawn said, softly. It was one of the few times Dawn ever called me "father" in Hawaiian. "Never a problem, Puanani," I answered. "I'm here for you whenever you need me." Aimee's voice was speaking in my head. I willed myself not to cry. This was an important moment and I did want my status as "minor asshole" to fuck things up. I pulled my daughter's face so that it was in front of mine. "Mau loa aloha au ia' oe, Mea makamae," I said, softly, to both my daughter and to that voice in my head. Having got that phrase out, I allowed my own tears to flow again. "Oh, Papa!" Dawn sobbed, throwing her arms around me once again, pulling me close. Unlike James, Dawn hadn't called me "Papa" since she was around three. I don't think Dawn had been ready for the burst of emotions that hit her when I said that. I know she understood every word of it: "I will love you forever, Precious." I had never used that name for Dawn before; I had only called Aimee by that name. Somehow, I had a hunch that Aimee may have said something similar once or twice to her. I know that Dawn won't be able to gather the strength today to talk, but we will definitely be having that talk very soon. If not today, then I will allow Dawn to pick her own time and place. I feel like I've earned that double-promotion from "minor asshole" to "Makuakane" and then to "Papa" today. I have a feeling that I will hear Dawn softly sing that Stevie Nicks song in our not-so-empty garden. I wonder what it will sound like in Hawaiian. Just to be on the safe side, I will ask James later for the translation, one random line at a time. Papa can never be too careful. Maybe I will sing along with my daughter for the first time. Dawn is now upstairs in her room, slowly changing into her bathing suit as I finish writing these words. In a few minutes, I will take my daughter into the Orchid Room, and from there out to the Lanai to the slide that Debbie installed that goes from the Lanai into the pool. That always made her laugh before when she was younger. After she slides down, her Papa will slide down right after her. One can only cry so much, and the pool is good for washing away tears, even if only for the moment. Well, I've been afraid of changing, 'Cause I've built my life around you. But time makes you bolder, Children get older, I'm getting older too. --Landslide (Stevie Nicks) ------- The End ------- Posted: 2001-01-03 Last Modified: 2004-10-25 / 12:53:09 pm ------- http://storiesonline.net/ -------