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From: "Bill Morgan" <morg1058@chartervt.net>
Subject: {ASSM} NEW from Morgan:CYNTHIA MARTIN 7 of 8 M/F Rom
Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2001 08:10:02 -0400
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<1st attachment, "Cindy 7.txt" begin>

The following is a work of fiction regarding sexual
relationships.  If you feel that it is illegal, immoral, or
otherwise improper for you to read this, then *Don't Read It.*

*  *  *

*Cynthia Martin Part 7 of 8*

*Copyright (c) By Morgan, 1991, 2001*

The first five parts of this book show a total of six parts. 
You'll notice that it's now up to eight.  The reason is -- as you
will see in this part -- the book takes a turn and really becomes
the start of a different book altogether.  I was going to
truncate it and pick up the balance in a subsequent book. 
However, it turned out not to be possible.  As noted below, this
is part of the Ali Clifford saga.  What this means is that
characters recur in other books and reference is made to events
in them as well.  Anyway, it's longer than I intended, and it
does stop rather abruptly.  Sorry about that.

Please note the original copyright date.  This story was
basically written ten years ago.  As a result, you will likely
find obsolete references.  I'm afraid you'll just have to live
with it; it's too tedious trying to keep up with the latest and
greatest.

This book is part of the Ali Clifford saga and is a sequel to --
and much longer than -- _Call Girls._  If you haven't read it, I
urge you to do so.  Without having read it, the actions in the
first few pages will not make any sense.

Incidentally, you will find occasional entries, _word_.  The
reason for this is that MS Word's Auto Format function puts a
word preceded and followed by an underscore in italics; that's my
intent.  Similarly, *word* results in the word appearing in bold
face.  If you use Word's Auto Format, it will take care of
things; if you don't, you at least know why it's there.

More of my works are posted on my site <www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/Morgan/www> 
If you like it -- or if you don't -- please let me know at
<morg105829@aol.com.>  My books are now also being posted on
<www.storiesonline.net> although at this writing there are fewer
of them than on my site.

*  *  *

*Chapter 54*

To the women's surprise, the President had ordered out one of the
presidential aircraft to pick up Colleen in Chicago.  Since the
cabin was set up in a VIP configuration, the two older women were
sitting side by side on a sofa talking while Maureen slept. 
Vangie looked at her friend and said, "Colly, you never told me
anything about your husband and I was always too selfish ever to
think to ask.  When did you meet?"

"Twenty-three years ago this June," she replied.  "I met him in
Dublin.  He had just graduated from West Point and was on leave
before reporting.  Of course, I didn't know it at the time.  All
I knew was there was this marvelous man and I loved him from the
first instant I saw him!  It was in a little pub near Trinity
College.  I was there with friends when he came in.  He had dark
hair, brilliant blue eyes and I adored him.  I guess I didn't
even realize at first that he was a Yank.  He just looked around
the room and came right over to me.  After staring at me for a
few moments... it seemed like years to me... he just said, 'Good
afternoon to you, the future Mrs. Sean Callahan!'"

She grinned and squeezed Vangie's arm.  "We were married by a
priest who was a family friend just two days later.  I was in
Heaven!  Then we came back to the States and Sean reported for
duty.  They sent him to Vietnam a few days later and that was the
last I saw of him.  Fortunately, he left me Maureen... a finer
daughter a woman never had!"

There were tears slowly flowing and Vangie was sobbing now.  "You
poor kid!  You lost your husband after only knowing him for about
three weeks?  That's a crime!  What happened?"

She slowly shook her head and said, "He was killed.  I got a lot
of letters from him.  In fact, I got the last three after I knew
he was dead.  They were the worst ones... reading his loving
words when I knew he was gone."  Then she brightened and said,
"But you helped me tremendously, Vangie!  I don't know what I
would have done!"

"Please don't say that again, Colly," Vangie pleaded.  "I really
can't take it anymore.  I was one of the worst shits on two legs.
 I can't stand it.  And what you did for Cathy!  She _is_ your
daughter, you know?"

"No, she's not," Colleen said firmly.  "She's yours, Mrs.
Collins!  All yours.  In fact, when I look at Cathy all I see is
the you in her.  If you think she's a wonderful person -- and I
certainly do -- you're seeing yourself in the mirror.  That
includes her beauty, her brains, her athletic ability...
everything!"  Then she smiled warmly and said, "I hope you're
satisfied.  You certainly should be."

Vangie just shook her head.  For all the sense Colly's words
made, she might as well have been speaking Latin.

When they landed at Andrews Air Force Base they were met by a
presidential limousine and were whisked to the White House. 
Remarkably, there hadn't even been a junior staffer on the plane
to explain what their schedule was to be.  The only people on
board were the plane's crew and they only had orders to fly the
Callahan party to Andrews.  The same thing was true of the car's
driver, so they were still in the dark when the black limousine
pulled up at the East Portico of the White House.  To their
surprise, there was a military honor guard flanking the doorway
with their weapons at present arms, saluting them as they got out
of the car.

They were ushered immediately into the Oval Office.  The
President introduced himself, and Colleen, with the presence of a
queen, presented her daughter, Maureen, and her best friend,
Evangeline Collins.  The President shook hands and looked at
Vangie closely.  then he asked, "Mrs. Collins, is Cathy Collins
Bradley your daughter?"  She smiled as said that indeed she was.
He smiled again and said under his breath, "I thought she must
be."

Then he turned back to Colleen, took both of her hands in his and
just looked into her green eyes.  After shaking his head sadly he
said, "When the government of the United States screws up, we
usually make a remarkably good job of it... my young daughter
would say we do it 'big time'... and with you we certainly did. 
Mrs. Callahan, my information is that you have been trying to
become an American citizen for some years now without any luck. 
Is that right?"  Colly just nodded her head slowly, puzzled by
the direction of the President's comments.

He just nodded and said, "I guess that's easy enough to fix."  He
excused himself and returned a moment later accompanying the
Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  Justice
Rehnquist asked her to raise her right hand.  By now Vangie knew
what was happening but it was obvious it was all still a great
mystery to Colleen.  She raised her right hand and the Chief
Justice administered the citizenship oath of allegiance.  He
smile warmly, congratulated her, and signed her citizenship
certificate with the President signing as a witness.  With a
broad smile he gave her the certificate after putting it in a
leather folder and said, "Okay, now you're a citizen."  Then he
grinned and added, "Be sure to register, and as the Boston
politician said, 'Vote early, and vote often!'"

Colleen returned his smile with great warmth and asked, "Do you
mean that I am now an American citizen, Mr. President?  Is that
what just happened?"

He returned her smile warmly and replied, "When the Chief Justice
of the United States Supreme Court personally swears you in, you
sure as hell are!"

Then he pressed a buzzer on his desk and his senior military
aide, an army major general, came into the office and saluted. 
He presented a scroll which the President read.  It was the award
of the Purple Heart.  It was followed by citations for the Silver
Star and then the Distinguished Service Cross.  He gave the
medals to Colly in their presentation boxes.

Finally, there was the last one.  He said, "It is with great
pride and sadness that I present to you the Medal of Honor won by
your late husband, Sean Patrick Callahan, for extraordinary
bravery far beyond the call of duty.  He then read the citation
which told how Lt.  Callahan had carried out a nearly-impossible
mission deep behind enemy lines and, even though severely
wounded, led his men back to their pickup point.  There he
provided covering fire and singlehandedly charged an enemy
machine gun that was preventing the evacuation of his men.  This
last cost him his life.

Then the President said, "There's one more thing, Mrs. Callahan.
This was in his service jacket when we finally dusted it off a
few days ago.  It's a letter to you from him."  He gave it to her
and helped her to a chair.  Carefully she opened it and started
to read.  As she read, she began to cry.  Finally, she was
weeping uncontrollably.  She motioned in Vangie's direction. 
Vangie took the letter from her and began to read aloud:

_My darling Colleen,_

_We're going off on what we're told will be a very dangerous
mission.  My darling, I will not be coming back.  Just today I
received your letter with the joyful news that we're expecting a
baby.  My only regret is that I will not live to see her.  I know
our baby will be a little girl, and she'll grow to be the image
of her mother._

_My darling, I'll never be far from you -- ever.  As long as the
sun shines and the breezes blow, I'll be there with you.  I can't
tell you how sorry I am that our life on earth together had to be
so short.  But, my darling, eternity is a very long time and we
will have all of it to spend in each other arms._

_My darling, even death cannot still my love for you.  You are
the love of my life, forever._

_Your loving husband,_

_Sean_

The President said softly, "He knew, and he was right.  Seeing
you, Maureen, I know your father is very proud right now.  I know
I am."

Then he went to his desk and came back with an envelope.  He
said, "Mrs. Callahan, this is just a start.  It's a check for
about $370,000 representing the death benefit that should have
been paid to you over twenty-two years ago along with a little
interest that I insisted be added.  There is also insurance of
your husband's own for which claims are now in process.  I have
heard about the sacrifices you've made.  I hope this money...
late though it is... will help.  Finally, I have one more favor
to ask: Would you women please go up to West Point?  A plane is
standing by at Andrews to fly you up there if you're willing to
go.  I'd like it, and I know the Commandant would, too."

They immediately agreed and were ushered out of the office and
back to the limousine that was still waiting.  They heard the
command, "Present... ARMS!" given as they appeared at the door. 
On the way out to the air base in the car, Vangie held Colly and
they both cried.

When Vangie began to cry, Colly stopped.  She looked at Vangie
and demanded, "Evangeline Collins, what _are_ you doing?"

"I'm crying my eyes out, Colleen Callahan!  What in hell does it
look like I'm doing?"  With that she tried to grin through her
tears and Colleen smiled.

"Well, why in hell are _you_ crying?  That was my husband the
President was talking about, not yours."

"That's true.  It demonstrates again the wonderful sensitivity
and thoughtfulness that characterizes the life of Evangeline
Pierce Collins.  My daughter's wet nurse... _wet nurse!_ for
God's sake... is the widow of one of the greatest heros in our
nation's history.  What does Vangie do?  She handles his widow's
tits like she's a cow!"  Then to herself she said,
"Congratulations, Collins!"

"Thank you, Vangie, very much," Colleen said quietly.  Vangie
looked up with a start.  "All of that was you, wasn't it?  You
made it all happen.  And you did it by remote control and in only
a little more than a week.  I've been fighting for over twenty
years until I'm bloody and beaten and got no place at all.  You
fixed it all up in less than ten days.  Thank you."  Taking
Vangie into her arms, she kissed her softly and then just hugged
her tightly.

Finally Vangie pulled away and looked at Maureen who had said
almost nothing for the entire visit.  "Would you please explain
it to your mother, Mo?  You understand.  I guess I do now, too. 
She's been beating her head against a stone wall for so long it
finally scrambled her brains.  Please tell her."

"Thank you very much, Vangie," The girl said softly.  Vangie was
amazed to see tears in the girl's eyes as she spoke.  "Think of
what you've just done for us: Mom was in some kind of
bureaucratic box.  There was no way out.  She said it, but really
doesn't know the half of it.  What do we get?  A citizenship
certificate signed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court with
the President of the United States signing as the witness.  That
has to be a first all by itself and would be a collector's item
if it were ever sold.

"We get Dad's medals that we didn't even know existed, although,
to be honest, I always thought he deserved something.  Then we
get his last letter.  I know my mother will cherish that forever.
 Without you, Evangeline Collins, none of it would ever have
happened, so thank you on behalf of the Callahan family."

By the time Mo finished her little speech, Vangie's jaw had
dropped.  She was utterly speechless.

When the plane landed, they were met by a car and driven to the
United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.  The car
pulled up at the door of the administration building where a
major general was waiting to greet them.  He greeted Colleen very
warmly and introduced himself as the Commandant of the U.S.
Military Academy.  Colly then introduced him to Maureen and
Vangie.  Again she introduced Vangie as "my dearest friend,
Evangeline Collins."  At that point the commandant stepped aside
and a cadet stepped forward, saluted, and stood at strict
attention.  He was ramrod straight with an armful of stripes and
chevrons.  The commandant said, "May I present Cadet Colonel
Daniel Kevin Maguire?  Cadet Maguire commands the entire Corps of
Cadets."

Colly and Vangie greeted him warmly while Maureen just looked at
him impassively.  Then with a wry smile she extended her hand and
said, "How do you do, Cadet Colonel Maguire?"

The young man's face reddened as he heard the sarcasm in her
voice.  Nonetheless, he said that he had been asked to give them
a tour of the Point which he would be most happy to do.  Vangie
looked at the young man closely and concluded he was older than
the typical first-classman.  She guessed his age at about
twenty-five.  Maguire was about six feet three with piercing blue
eyes and dark hair.  He took them to all the places of interest
and finally brought them to a special monument.  On it were
listed the names, with dates, of all the Medal of Honor winners
who had graduated from West Point.

He carefully indicated a name newly-engraved in gold: Second
Lieutenant Sean Patrick Callahan, with his graduation year and
the date and place of his death -- he had died less than six
months after his graduation.  It indicated that his Medal of
Honor award was made posthumously.

Colly looked at the monument while Vangie watched her closely for
any sign of collapse.  It had been a very long day for her
already, full of emotion and stress.  However, Colleen just stood
with her back as straight as an arrow and read her husband's
name.  Tears trickled from her eyes but she made no move.  Then
she said quietly, "Thank you, Cadet Maguire.  I appreciate your
taking so much time to show us around the academy and bring us to
this memorial.  It's particularly nice on such a raw day in
February."

The truth was that it was a cold and overcast day at West Point
with a threat of snow in the air.  Nevertheless, the gray weather
and the leafless trees seemed to provide a fitting backdrop for
the occasion.

Maureen stood there with her head up straight and stared at the
monument with unseeing eyes.  When they moved away, Vangie
motioned to Colly to hang back.  The woman glanced at her, then
at her daughter and smiled at Vangie warmly.  "Have you no sense
of decency, Mrs. Collins?  Throwing my poor innocent daughter at
that... that soldier!"

"None at all, Mrs. Callahan," Vangie replied with a grin.  "None
at all!"

Maureen found herself walking alongside the cadet.  He was
marching with his back up straight at a position of attention. 
He glanced at Mo out of the corner of his eye and said, "You
don't like me, Miss Callahan.  Why not?"

"Because you're stuck up, Mr. Maguire.  Like all the people up
here at West Point, you have a ramrod stuck up your ass!  I
graduated from Yale.  I guess we were humiliated so often by your
teams that I'm not kindly disposed toward Army.  I'm sorry," she
said firmly.

They continued to walk toward the parade ground and he said, "But
your dad was a West Point graduate, Miss Callahan.  Doesn't that
count for something?"

"My mother loved my father very much," she answered quietly. 
"They were together for three weeks from the first time she saw
him until he was shipped out.  That was the last time she ever
laid eyes on him.  My father was killed before I was born."

In spite of being at attention and on parade, Maguire stopped
suddenly and wheeled on Maureen.  She was taken aback by the
sudden change in his attitude.  "I'm terribly sorry, Miss
Callahan.  It must be very hard to have never known your father.
I didn't know.  That's not a matter of record, but I guess it
shows on the dates on the Memorial."

"Thank you, Mr. Maguire."  She looked at him with some warmth now
and said, "Today my mother received the last letter my father
ever wrote.  It was never mailed for some reason.  Dad knew he
was going to die.  He also said the baby would be a girl and
would be the image of my mother.  He was right about that.  He
also said he would always be with her, and even though they would
not have the life together on earth that he wanted for her they
would be together throughout eternity."  Tears were pouring down
her cheeks but her head was up straight.  "God, he loved my
mother!  And I guess he still does!"

Daniel Kevin Maguire didn't have any idea what to do in the
presence of a woman's tears.  All he knew was that he had fallen
madly in love with this beautiful girl the first instant he saw
her.  For no reason he could think of he put out his hand and she
put hers in his.  Holding her hand firmly he asked softly, "Miss
Callahan, if your mother knew she would only have three weeks
with your father, would she still have married him?"

"Yes," she replied simply with tears continuing to run down her
cheeks, "I know she would.  She has told me that she still thanks
God that she was able to become pregnant so quickly because my
father gave me to her.  In spite of all of her troubles, she only
wishes there had been more children."

She looked at him and asked, "Can you imagine?  Being left a
widow when she was scarcely twenty years old and regretting not
having even more children to take care of?  That's my mother." 
Then she looked up and said, "Thank you, Mr. Maguire, for being
so understanding and for your expression of sympathy."

They proceeded to the parade ground where a reviewing stand had
been set up.  Maguire saluted the commandant and returned the
guests to his care, then dashed off to form up the Corps.  After
the commandant escorted them to the front row of the stand and
gave a signal, the command was given to pass in review.

The entire Corps of Cadets was marching in formal parade led by
Cadet Maguire.  As he passed the reviewing stand he extended the
most meticulous salute imaginable.  Maureen whispered in her
mother's ear that the music was _The Long Gray Line_ signifying
the line of graduating classes over the years.  Colleen Callahan
was standing erect like a queen and meticulously acknowledged
every unit salute.  Finally the entire corps was in ranks facing
the reviewing stand.

Maguire gave the order, "Present... ARMS!"  At the execute
command, the entire corps snapped their arms to the salute
position.  Again, Colleen acknowledged, and again in unison, thy
snapped back to the position of attention, then to parade rest.

The commandant spoke on the PA system.  He said, "Ladies and
gentlemen of the Military Academy: We are here today to honor the
memory of one of our graduates, Sean Patrick Callahan, second
lieutenant, United States Army.  Lieutenant Callahan lost his
life in the service of our country.  He did it under conditions
that resulted in his winning the Silver Star, the Distinguished
Service Cross, and the Medal of Honor.  Unfortunately, all of the
awards were made posthumously.  Even though the action took place
over twenty years ago, the presentation of medals to his widow
was only made this morning by the President in Washington.

"I received a call from the President a short time ago.  He told
me of a remarkable letter he delivered to Mrs. Callahan this
morning.  Since it was addressed to her by her late husband, it
had never been opened.  In that letter he expresses great joy at
learning that his wife was expecting a baby.  He said, with
certainty, that the baby would be a girl and would be the image
of her mother.  Well, had things worked out the way they normally
do, much of this would have happened twenty years ago.  However,
today we also have with us Maureen Callahan, the daughter
Lieutenant Callahan never saw.  But she is, indeed, the image of
her mother.  And I'm very sure Sean Callahan is very proud right
now.  Thank you all for this tribute to the memory of an
outstanding officer!"

After the cadets were dismissed, the commandant looked at mother
and daughter.  "He sure did get that right, didn't he?  Mrs
Callahan, the President has asked me to ask you if it might be
possible to have a copy made of your husband's last letter.  It's
as moving as one from the Civil War written under similar
conditions before the writer lost his life at the first battle of
Bull Run.  Of course, it's completely up to you and if you wish
to establish any conditions, they will, of course, be
respected... in perpetuity."  Colleen quickly agreed and
arrangements were made to send several copies to West Point.

As the women were leaving to go the plane that was standing by to
fly them back to Chicago, Vangie said, "It's a shame you didn't
see Cadet Maguire again.  He seems like a fine young man."

Maureen's eyes flashed as she replied, "Don't worry, Vangie.  I
will."*Chapter 55*

Two weeks after returning from their trip to Washington and West
Point, Janice received a call from Susan Cassidy.  Susan had just
returned from her honeymoon along with the other girls and was
back at work with Mary Jefferson.  It had been arranged for
Maureen to join the bank working in Cindy's unit.  However, they
were still staying with the Stewarts while they looked around for
a place to live.  Colleen was overjoyed since, for the first time
in her entire life, she had money enough to get a nice place for
Maureen and herself.

Susan finally got to the reason for her call: "Jan, Mary would
like to meet the Callahans.  There's something she hasn't told
me, but she wants to meet them very soon and very badly.  Could
you ask Vangie to drive them downtown this afternoon?"

Jan immediately agreed and gave Vangie the keys to her BMW along
with directions to the Jefferson apartment.

When she pulled up to the apartment house door, the doorman ran
up and saluted.  When she told him they had an appointment with
Mrs. Jefferson and asked where to park the car, he snapped to
attention, assured her it would be taken care of, and ushered
them all into the lobby.  The receptionist called the Jefferson
apartment and they were shown to the elevator.  Vangie was right
at home in the luxurious surroundings, but it was clear that the
Callahans were taken aback.  The door to the Jefferson penthouse
was opened by a black giant wearing a morning suit.  As he was
greeting them, Susan came out to the hall with her hand
outstretched.  She greeted Vangie who then introduced Colleen and
Maureen Callahan.  Susan ushered them back to the library.

Mary Jefferson rose to greet the women when they entered the
room.  Another young couple was also present.  The woman looked
like she might be expecting a baby.  Susan just introduced them
as Kerry and Jim Vance with no further explanation.

After John Smith took refreshment orders and pleasantries had
been exchanged, Colleen Callahan looked at Mary Jefferson
expectantly.  "Mrs. Jefferson, thank you for inviting us to
visit," she said.  "But I'm sure you didn't ask us over to admire
the lovely furnishings.  What can we do for you?"

Mary Jefferson looked incredibly beautiful.  Since John Smith had
been making love to her, she was now more relaxed than at any
time since her husband died.  Now sitting in the high-backed wing
chair she looked like a queen on her throne.  Picking up a letter
from the side table she glanced at it and then looked at Colleen.
 "Mrs. Callahan, this is a letter I received a long time ago from
my late husband, Tom.  He was a platoon sergeant in the army. 
There are some things in this letter I thought you might like to
hear.  She read:

_My darling Mary,_

_I can't tell you how lucky I am to be alive to write this letter
to you today.  You see, my life and the lives of the rest of our
platoon were saved by our platoon leader, Lt. Sean Callahan, at
the cost of his own.  Lt. Callahan was a West Point graduate.  We
make a lot of jokes about the "ring knockers" sometimes, and all
the old traditions up there at West Point.  Of course, the real
tradition is "Duty, Honor, Country."  I guess it sounds pretty
trite -- just nice-sounding words._

_All I can say is Lt. Callahan's actions exemplified that motto
the other day.  We were in a terrible jam.  I can't give you the
details but we were going to be wiped out.  Lt. Callahan, all
alone, charged an enemy machine gun that had been chopping us up.
 He dumped in a grenade and wiped them out.  Then he
singlehandedly took out most of the rest of the enemy who were
shooting us up.  Mary, he should get the Medal of Honor.  All I
know is I would not be alive if it had not been for him.  I owe
him my life._

_I also learned that day what that motto means.  It has a real
life for me now.  Incidentally, Lt. Callahan had only been
married a few months and just learned that his wife is going to
have a baby.  I know this sounds silly because of who we are and
what we are, but if at any time you can help that widow or her
child, please do it for me.  I know nothing about them, of
course, except that if Sean Callahan loved that woman, she has to
be very special.  Please help her if you ever can, my darling._

_All my love,_

_Tom_

"Mrs. Callahan, those were my husband's last wishes.  He was
killed a few weeks later doing for his men what your husband had
done for him.  Now how can I help you?"  As she said it tears
were streaming from her eyes.  She jumped from the chair, fell
onto the sofa beside Colleen, and threw herself into her arms. 
Susan, for the first time ever, saw Mary Jefferson bawl like a
baby in Colleen's arms.

When Mary finally looked up at Colleen she said, "You had
absolutely nothing!  And yet your raised this beautiful girl.  I
know it's late, but can I help you in some way?  Please?" 
Sitting up straight, with an effort of will she regained control.
 She added, "Please, Mrs. Callahan, it's not for you.  It's for
me!  It's something I must do!"

Colleen didn't know what to do or say.  All she could do was to
look at Maureen in utter bewilderment.  To break the palpable
tension Jim Vance quietly asked Colleen if she would mind sitting
in an armchair with Maureen standing behind it.  He arranged the
chair and Colleen posed as he requested.  His hand began to dart
over the sheet of sketch paper with a piece of charcoal.  As he
worked Kerry was kneeling beside him and occasionally made a
whispered comment.  The Callahans were utterly baffled by what
was happening.

In just a few minutes he tore the sheet from his sketch pad and
brought it over to them.  Mary Jefferson and Susan Callaway came
over as well.  The sketch he had just done was similar in
composition to his painting of Emily Amelia Hardwick.  As in that
painting, there was a shadow box on the bookshelf.  This time it
contained an army officer's gold cap device on top, the Medal of
Honor in the center, and below it the DSC, the Silver Star and
the Purple Heart.  Strangely, there was a dart lying on the side
table in the picture.  Maureen stood very straight and proud in
the picture while Colleen showed the suffering she had
experienced but still looked like a Celtic queen.  Both women
looked very beautiful and Maureen was the younger image of her
mother.

When Colleen looked at the sketch she began to cry.  "But how
could you possibly know?" she wailed.  "No one knows!  Not even
my daughter."

Susan looked at the sketch and asked, "What's the significance of
the dart, Mrs. Callahan?  That's what you're referring to, isn't
it?"

The woman nodded and whispered, "I have it at home.  It's my
secret keepsake from Sean.  It started as a joke, you see.  When
he came into the pub in Dublin the day we met, I was playing
darts with some friends.  I was so mesmerized by him I just held
on to a dart that I had in my hand.  I didn't even know I had it
until I almost stuck it in his back when my arms were around his
neck hugging him.  I have it still.  But how could you possibly
know, Mr. Vance?  Only two people _ever_ knew... my husband and
me... and he's dead.  I know I never told you.  How could you
know?"

Susan asked her to come with her.  She took her around the
apartment, first showing Colly the portrait of Emily Amelia
Hardwick.  "Mrs. Callahan, do you see the matchbook lying on the
table?  It has the 1942 logo of the Pump Room at the Ambassador
Hotel.  On it Mike Casey wrote his address for his love.  Like
your husband, he never came back.  He was killed at Midway and
won the Navy Cross posthumously.

"Jim couldn't know that, either; in fact, he had no idea what the
Pump Room's logo was, either in 1942 or today.  Nevertheless, he
put it in his first sketch the same way he showed the dart in
yours.  Those of us who know Jim Vance never ask anymore. 
Between him and Kerry they get it all.  Somehow, they just know."
 Then she showed her the portrait of the Jeffersons and then the
figure study of Kerry and her.

When she saw it, Colleen murmured, "Two virgins!  And one so
wanting, it hurts!"

"That's Jim," Sue said.  "What do you think of Kerry now?  Does
she still look wanting?"

"Good heavens, no!  She looks... fulfilled!  She is, isn't she?"

"Now she has Jim to make love to her every day while her belly
begins to swell with their first child growing inside her.  Yes,
she is fulfilled."

They rejoined the others with Colleen still in a state of shock.
When they sat down again, Mary said that she and Maureen had been
talking and she had an idea.  "You see, Colly, things have
changed for the worse," Mary said.  "Until a few weeks ago, I was
happy as a clam.  My daughter and grandson were here with me, as
well as my adopted daughter, Susan.  Everything was always so
bright and happy around here.  The only time April and Sue
weren't teasing each other was when they were teasing their
lovers.  Now they're both married and in their own places.  John
and I just rattle around in this... this barn!

"How about if you and Maureen come and live with us?  The
building is very nice and it's certainly convenient to her new
job at the bank.  Of course we'll redecorate your suite any way
you wish to be sure you're comfortable.  Will you?  Please?"

Colleen was utterly stunned by the offer.  Meanwhile drinks were
served and they talked and generally got acquainted.  The dinner,
served formally that evening, was magnificent and Mary noticed
how Colleen sat in her chair like a queen and Maureen was just as
clearly a Celtic princess.  Mary was wearing down Colleen's
resistance.  Finally, Colleen thought she had the ultimate
objection.  "Mary Jefferson..."  When Mary raised an eyebrow,
Colly grinned and said, "Okay, I give up...  Mary, I can't stay
in such a magnificent apartment.  You see, I'm a stripper.  I
also work as a topless waitress in a bar.  More men have pinched
my ass and put tips in my bikini than I could count.  On stage, I
have even picked up money in my cunt!  You couldn't possibly want
me here in this palace!"

To her surprise, Mary just grinned.  That's wonderful, Colly! 
You just solved the only remaining problem."  Raising her voice
she said, "John Smith, you can stop hiding now and come out here.
 I need you... badly!"

John came out from the kitchen smiling and shaking his ohead.  He
knew exactly what Mary was talking about.  Standing behind her
chair, he unbuttoned her blouse, peeled it back from her tits and
then cradled her full, very firm and youthful breasts in his
hands while teasing her nipples.  Mary just moaned with pleasure.
 Then he got down on one knee and held her close while she mashed
her lips to his.  When they broke the kiss, he casually
straightened her blouse so it covered her nipples but made no
move to button it again.

Mary just sighed and shook her head to clear it.  "That was the
last problem.  You see, John is now my lover.  We're getting
married in June.  He gets me as his graduation present from
college.  Since you were a stripper yourself, you won't mind
seeing me bare from time to time, will you?"

That took care of the last argument Colly had.  They agreed that
the Callahan women would move in as soon as all the arrangements
could be completed.*Chapter 56*

Two months had gone by for Vangie while living with the Stewarts.
 Colleen and Maureen Callahan were now living with Mary Jefferson
so only Peter and Janice were at home.  Of course, now that their
house was completed, Cindy and Dan were often out making
arrangements for decorating.  One day Cindy gave Vangie a tour of
her new house.  It was the most beautiful home the woman had ever
seen.  Cindy appreciated the comment, knowing something of
Vangie's connection with the arts in New York City.

Since her only duties were in the house and taking care of the
grounds -- unlike Cindy who had built up the Special Lending
Division at the same time -- everything in and around the Stewart
house was now spotless, sparkling, and meticulously groomed.  It
even spilled over to Cindy's new house.  Carpet had just been
laid and bits and scraps were all over the place when she had
locked the house.  Her heart had sunk at the thought of having to
clean up the mess they had left behind.  With her tail dragging
at the prospect of cleaning up the debris -- with the heavy
workload at the bank, the poor girl had little free time -- she
opened the door and found the house was sparkling clean.  Even
the windows were spotless, inside and out.

Storming over to Janice's -- a flagstone walk had been laid
between the two back doors -- she found Vangie with Jan in the
kitchen.  "Evangeline Pierce Collins, what in hell are you doing
to my house?"

Vangie looked at her coolly and replied, "Cleaning it.  Why?" 
Then her mouth formed an "O" and she said, "The scraps!  You want
them to stuff rag dolls already?  I saved them for you in a
plastic bag and put it in the basement.  Do you want them now? 
It's not close to Christmas yet, but some people do startearly."

Cindy just shook her head and tried to control a giggle.  Still
trying to look angry, she said to Jan, "Sis, would you please
order you slave to present herself to me?"

"Slave Vangie, you heard my sister.  Do it!" Jan ordered.

Vangie stopped what she was doing and stood up straight in front
of Cindy.  Cupping her breasts with her hands she said, "These
are my tits, Mistress Cindy.  Now they are full and firm.  My
nipples are erect and up-thrusting.  My ass is tight and firm
also.  My hips are slim and flow down to my thighs in pleasant
curves.  As you can see, I have no pubic hair."  Bending back at
the waist, she thrust her pelvis forward with her legs spread. 
Then she used her fingertips to part her labia to reveal her
erect clitoris.  "My cunt is clean but it hasn't been used in a
long time."  Then she stood up again and said, "My training is
going well.  I can work the same weights as my mistress and can
do most of the things she can do.  She's making me into a
competent field hand."

Cindy ran her fingers lightly over Vangie's skin and could feel
the woman's muscles respond to her light touch.  Her skin was
exquisitely textured and she had a rich all-over golden tan.  Her
brown hair was flowing and wavy; Cindy thought it looked lovely.
Then Vangie said, "Does Mistress Cindy wish to discipline me? 
It's a lovely day and the whipping post hasn't been used in a
long time.  Would you like that?"

Dropping the playacting, Cindy took Vangie into her arms and
hugged her tightly.  Vangie could feel wetness on her cheek.  As
she backed away, she could see tears pouring from Cindy's eyes. 
In spite of her tears, Cindy tried to smile.  "Vangie Collins,
you're too damned much!  All I can say is you're a lifesaver. 
Honestly, I dreaded coming out tonight.  When I locked up the
last time, my poor house looked like a cyclone had been through
it.  There were scraps and shreds and pieces of shit all over
everything, and dust everywhere."

Now she really smiled and said, "Hell, I'll bet I owe Jan a new
vacuum cleaner.  I'm sure you destroyed hers trying to clean up
that mess!"  Then with a grin she added, "Or did you just drive
the garden tractor inside and plow the shit out?"  Vangie just
hugged Cindy and told her she was happy to do it.

Vangie found the arrangements in the Stewart house funny.  As she
had heard at the outset, Jan almost never wore clothes.  Most of
the time Pete wore shorts around the house, but not always. 
Whenever Cindy came over, the first thing she did was strip so
the women were almost always nude.  Vangie found that she liked
it that way.  Now that the dome was off the swimming pool, she
was improving her times dramatically.  It turned out that Jan, in
addition to everything else, was an incredibly effective swimming
coach.  She thought that just a short time more would be all she
needed.  Her plan to improve her appearance seemed to have
worked.

Every morning she went into the Stewart's bedroom and watched
them make love.  Vangie had long since gotten used to the fact
that Pete took Janice every way imaginable.  Even now with Jan In
her sixth month, she scarcely showed her pregnancy at all, even
when nude, although her breasts had swollen and her nipples were
now enlarged.  All Pete did, though, was to decry their lack of
milk.

One Saturday morning she sat on the chair and watched as Pete
took Jan to orgasm and held her there.  Her loins were pulsating
with her cuming and her fluids were pouring in a steady stream. 
Finally she could see Pete's loins shake as he unloaded his
massive balls with all their cum into Jan's vagina.  In spite of
his size, she could see their combined fluids forced past his
blocking weapon.  As usual, Jan lost consciousness.

When Pete withdrew, Vangie scrambled up on the bed and carefully
licked Jan's cunt clean.  She found she loved this close contact
with the beautiful woman and had developed a taste for their
delicious sexual fluids.  Then she moved over to Pete, grinned up
at him, and licked off his now-semi-flaccid cock.  When she
finished, she knelt at the end of the bed and said, "God, Pete, I
wish I could cum.  It looks like it would be so much fun!"

By this time Jan was recovering consciousness.  As usual she
casually brushed her hair back with her fingers and lay back
against Pete's shoulder.  "Evangeline Pierce Collins, are you
trying to tell me that you can't cum?" she demanded.  "Every
woman can cum!  My God, look at me.  I destroy myself at least
twice a day, every day."

"But you're different, Jan," Vangie protested.  "You were a
professional, after all, and it was part of your stock in trade.
You had to be able to cum."

"Vangie, in all the years I was a prostitute and before, I had
never cum.  Not once!"  Then Jan looked at Pete and just shook
her head sadly.  "Peter, my darling, would you like to make some
money?  How are we doing at The Peters Drive Company?  Could we
use a little pin money?  To buy a nice bottle of wine, perhaps? 
After all, love of my life, there are few things quite as much
fun as taking the last few dollars away from a helpless slave." 
Pete grinned and said he could always stand another bottle of
Chardonnay.  And he reminded her that Vangie hadn't paid even a
penny for all the food she had been eating.  Jan nodded and then
asked, "Slave Vangie, how much money do you have with you?"

"About five hundred dollars or so, I guess, Mistress," Vangie
replied, puzzled.  "But why do you ask"

"How much of it would you care to lose?  I'll make you a wager: I
bet that my husband, Pete, can not only bring you to orgasm, but
will have you pleading with him to give you release."  She
grinned and added, "Now I want you to remember who you're dealing
with.  This guy is a refugee from the Widener Library at Harvard,
for God's sake!  If that isn't enough, he has _two_ degrees from
MIT in _computer science!_  If that doesn't make him an
all-galaxy nerd, I don't know what would."  She smiled and cocked
her head.

"Are you betting me that Pete can get me to _beg_ for release?"
Vangie asked.  Jan just grinned and rapidly nodded her head up
and down.  "Lady, do you know who you're dealing with?" Vangie
asked.  "You _do_ know that I'm forty-five years old?  Twenty
years ago?  Maybe.  Today?  No way!  In fact, no _fucking_ way! 
I'll bet the full five hundred.  Okay?"

Jan just stuck out her hand and the women shook.  "'Come into my
web, said the spider to the fly' is a rather famous phrase, isn't
it?" Jan asked.  Vangie nodded.  "Lady, the web is right up here.
 Just kneel next to Pete with your back up straight and your
hands on your thighs.  It might help if you spread your knees a
bit, too."  Vangie did as she was told.

Pete and Jan started to talk about arrangements for the new baby.
 She had already redecorated the bedroom next to theirs as the
nursery.  Jan was funny as she described how she intended to play
musical chairs with the children.  When there was a new baby,
every child would move down one room.  Pete asked what happened
when they went through all five bedrooms.

Jan looked at him as if he had a screw loose and said acidly, "We
enlarge the house, dummy!  You don't think for one minute that's
going to stop my production of babies, do you?"  Pete just rolled
his eyes and caressed her belly.  Then Jan kissed him with
unleashed passion and whispered, "Peter Stewart, you are my love
and my life!"

Meanwhile, Pete's other hand had been gently caressing Vangie's
body.  The woman was now proud of her body for the first time in
as long as she could remember.  Remarkably, all of her lotions,
liquids, creams and other toiletries were things of the past. 
Jan told her with a grin that the only permitted item was musk
oil which they used by the gallon.  Now her complexion was clear
and golden.  She glanced down and loved the way her breasts now
looked with their small up-thrusting nipples.  She was surprised
to see how engorged they now were.  As she watched, his
fingertips caressed them and she let out an involuntary scream of
pain and pleasure.  They had never been so sensitive before!

His hands continued to move and she could feel her respiration
speed up for some reason.  Then, when he lightly ran a finger up
her hairless slit, it was soaking wet!  In fact, when he parted
her lips, some fluid began to drip from it.  This had never
happened before, either.  She found her body swaying in time with
his stroking and heard herself make happy mewing sounds as he
stroked her like a cat. _My God, I even sound like one!_ she
thought.  Now it felt like he was taking her higher and higher up
a mountain.  She began to strive for the top!  It would be... 
What?  Ecstasy?  But that would mean he had made her... cum?  But
it was impossible!  Her sexually active years were well back in
her past.

In fact, she now admitted to herself, that was a major reason for
her spending the time with Jan.  She could tell that Ed Bradley
was very virile.  Of course, he could have a mistress and
probably did, but she wanted him to herself as much as possible.
That was why she was working so hard to become an excellent cook
and housekeeper to try to maintain his interest.  She had even
learned how to play bridge because she knew he liked the game. 
But keeping him happy in bed?  Now she realized that, deep down,
she hoped if her body were attractive enough that he might
overlook her shortcomings.  Besides, she would happily be a
receptacle for his cum anywhere.  Even in her ass, she decided. 
Perhaps that would be enough to maintain his interest, at least
for a while. _Oh, well,_ she thought, _maybe I could help him
find a younger girl who's very good in bed.  But if I do that,
why would he need me?_ she wondered.

In the meantime, though, Pete had her high up on the mountain. 
_My God,_ she thought, _maybe I'm actually going to... cum!  But
it's never happened before.  Ever!_  She was close... closer...
she was...  And Pete stopped.  Vangie jerked herself erect and
opened her eyes. _My God!_  she thought, _I didn't even realize
they were closed!_  He looked at her, smiled warmly, and asked if
she wanted to catch her breath before they started again.  Vangie
shook her head to try to clear it and took a deep breath.

_Now that it was over, it really wasn't so bad after all.  In
fact, it was really kind of fun.  Pete had such a remarkably
tender touch!  His fingers felt glorious on her flesh.  The
other...  well, that must have been some sort of aberration,_ she
thought.  Again he began to move.  But this time it was much
faster getting up the mountain.  In no time she was at the edge
and... nothing!  He had stopped again.

She looked at Jan and saw the girl smiling in amusement and...
sympathy. _She knows I'm in agony!  She really does._  He took
her up again, and again, and yet again.  Now the intervals seemed
to be only seconds.  Her nerve endings were alive and screaming.
In fact, she realized, _I am screaming!  My God, I am!_  And she
was.  Now all her sensation was in her loins.  Pete stroked her
nipples again and she screamed in pain.  He took her up and
stopped.  Finally, she couldn't take it any more and screamed,
"Pete, release me!  Oh God!  Please, Pete, I'll do anything if
you'll only release me.  Please!"

"Why don't you lick out Jan's cunt again, Vangie.  While you do
that I'll think about your request.  But please do a good job
or..."  Vangie dove between Jan's thighs and began to lick her
cunt with the greatest care.  As she did she could feel her tears
pouring down on Jan's abdomen and thighs, so she tried to lick up
her tears, too.  Meantime, Peter continued to work on her so
intensively she could scarcely function.  All she knew was that
her survival depended on cleaning Jan's cunt to the greatest
extent possible.  Her tongue darted up the girl's vagina and
stroked her clit.  When Vangie bit it lightly, she was rewarded
by another flood of her delicious juices.  Finally, when Jan's
crotch was licked clean, she flipped her head and used her long
hair to dry the woman's groin.

Again Pete took her up her mountain.  As she approached her crest
again she was screaming and crying for release.  Tears were
pouring from her eyes and then...  She was over!  Her cunt began
to pour out a flood.  When it happened, she could no longer hold
her body upright.  Pitching forward on the bed, she had her knees
up under her and spread them wide.  Pete just continued to play
with her clit and her vagina while she pumped out what seemed to
be years of accumulated vaginal juices.  As the minutes passed,
he just kept it up.  All Vangie cared about was the glorious
sensation in her cunt that was like nothing she had ever felt or
even imagined.  Then she remembered what Cathy had said.  This
must be what a continuous orgasm was like.  Suddenly Pete pinched
her clit hard.  The incredible sensation overwhelmed her nervous
system and she fainted.

Pete winked at Jan who winked back.  "Thank you, darling, for
thinking of me.  She was wonderful.  Her tongue is really very
talented now." Jan said.

They carefully moved Vangie to a dry part of the bed,
straightened out her body and pulled the covers up over her
shoulders.  Pete and Jan got out of bed and took a shower
together.  Now Pete enjoyed soaping Jan's abdomen and taking the
opportunity to feel the baby moving and kicking inside her.  With
the water pouring over them he kissed her passionately.

She said, "Darling, thank you.  I couldn't be more happy than I
am now!  I just couldn't be.  I have you and my baby growing
inside me.  What more is there?"

They went downstairs and Jan, making a funny face by crossing her
eyes and sticking outher tongue, began a comedy routine of
preparing breakfast.

Pete laughed merrily and said, "Darling wife, have I told you how
much I love you lately?"

She looked thoughtful and then hurt.  "Not in at least fifteen
minutes," she complained.  "Thank you for reminding me that I'm
hurt by your insensitivity to my emotional needs.  I don't think
I'm speaking to you any more!"  He took her in his arms and
started nibbling on her ear.  "That will... get... you...
everything!" she exclaimed as she spun into his arms and kissed
him passionately.  Then with a yelp, she rescued his omelette
from burning.  She had just sat down to eat hers when Vangie
padded into the kitchen.

Vangie was bright-eyed and her hair had been carefully brushed. 
She looked exquisite.  When Jan looked at her quizzically, Vangie
returned the look with a puzzled look of her own.  Then she
pantomimed a great discovery.  Standing beside Jan, she tipped
her pelvis backward.  "Is this what you're looking for?" she
asked.  Jan glanced down and saw what appeared to be a cigarette
protruding form Vangie's cunt.  She gently pulled it out and
found it was five one-hundred dollar bills rolled tightly like a
cigarette.  Jan took it and howled with laughter.  Then Vangie
said with a grimace, "It's only fair, after all.  My damned cunt
lost the bet, so it's only fair that it should pay."

Then she went to Pete and kissed him softly full on the lips. 
His eyes widened and he asked what that was all about.  "It's
about saving my marriage, Pete, and that's despite the fact that
there's been no wedding yet," she replied softly.  "You see, I
was so scared of losing Ed, I wanted to be as good for him as I
possibly could be.  While you were working on me, I was even
thinking that I could fool him by having a nice body so he might
not notice that it was just a piece of meat.  Then I thought of
helping him find a nice young thing who could be good to him in
bed, but that thought terrified me.  Then you brought me to
orgasm.  My God!  Did you ever!  Peter Stewart, you are unreal."
Then with a grin and a wink at Jan she added, "And that's in
spite of being an all-galaxy nerd, too!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Maureen Callahan had begun work at the bank and had
been assigned to work with Kelly Cavanaugh as Cathy Collins had
been.  She found she loved the work and was very good at it. 
Like Cathy and Kelly herself, Mo had an excellent feel for
people.  She felt right at home in her "uniform" of Levi's and
chambray shirt although she truly envied the girls who wore the
gold collar as their badge of honor.  No one had earned the right
to wear one since Christmas, and it didn't look like anyone else
would now that Cindy was married and in her own apartment.

One evening, Kelly stopped by her desk and asked her if she would
like to join Kevin and her for a beer after work.  He was coming
over from the steel mill after work to pick her up.  Maureen
agreed instantly.  She found she liked this big Irish girl very
much and loved to see her with Kevin.  They were so much in love
it brightened their surroundings wherever they went.

When Kevin arrived, they walked over to J.J. Murphy's.  Jack
Murphy greeted Kelly with a kiss.  Quickly she whispered to him
that Maureen Murphy Callahan was the daughter of Colleen Murphy
Callahan and the late Sean Patrick Callahan.  Sean, she told him,
had been awarded the Medal of honor, the DSC, the Silver Star,
and the Purple Hear, all posthumously.  Finally, she told him
that Maureen's father had been killed in action before she was
even born.  "But remember, Jack, her mother is a Murphy from
Dublin!"

J.J. went over to Maureen and spoke to her in Gaelic to tease
her.  To his amazement, she responded fluently in the same
language.  J.J. looked at her and said, "Sure and it's true! 
You're indeed a Celtic princess.  Maureen Murphy Callahan, my
home is yours, along with everything in it.  You're my guest
here... permanently.  And if your mother is ever in the area, I
would love to have the opportunity to meet her.  Not here, of
course!  It wouldn't be proper.  But perhaps we could meet at
some fine hotel where I could buy her tea... or something."  Poor
J.J.'s voice just faded away as he realized the impossibility of
ever entertaining a Celtic queen

Tears came to the corners of Mo's eyes and she said softly, "Mr.
Murphy, there's something you should know about my mother and
pubs.  You see, she met my father in a pub in Dublin."  She told
him how she had been playing darts and walked out with a dart
still in her hand.  Then she told how they were so quickly
married and then what happened afterward.  "You see, Mr. Murphy,"
Maureen explained, "my mother and father were only together for
about three weeks.  He went to Vietnam and was killed in action
only a few months later.  My mother has been a widow ever since.
But God!  Did she ever love him and take care of me!"

"The name is Jack or J.J., Miss Callahan," he insisted.  "When
you say 'Mr. Murphy', sure and I don't know who you're talking
to."

She grinned and extended her hand.  "It's Mo or Maureen, J.J. 
You choose," she said.  "And I know Mom would love to come down
and meet you.  Particularly if you promise to let her play darts
with you.  Do you think you might?  She's... she's really neat,"
Mo said with a wonderfully warm grin.  "And she looks just like
me... sort of an older sister.  Interested?  Would it be
possible?"

"At absolutely any time she would care to come down," he replied
instantly.

The three young people spent a delightful couple of hours in the
pub and finally worked their way up the challenge list to get to
the dart-board.  Mo was holding a pair of darts in her hand when
the door opened and Dan Maguire entered the tavern.  He looked
around the bar, saw Maureen, and smiled to himself.

She had seen him enter, but ignored him and put both of her darts
in the center of the bulls-eye.  He was standing beside her when
she turned.  Without a word, he put his arms around her and
kissed her.  She struggled with her arms waving in the air, but
then she stopped flailing as she felt the electricity from his
kiss.  Then she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and then
just held on as her joints turned to water.  Gently he disengaged
from the kiss but still held her tightly.  Maureen could feel her
tits mashed against his rock-hard chest.  When he looked into her
eyes he could see that they were glazed.  Then he whispered into
her ear, "Good evening, Miss Callahan.  I'm delighted to see you
again!"

Mo wound up to slap his face but then muttered, "Oh, shit!  Why
bother?"  He looked puzzled and asked her what she meant by that.
 "I was going to slap your face as hard as I could," she said,
"but then I decided it would be a waste of energy and I would
only hurt my hand.  What's your first name, anyway?  Mine's
Maureen or Mo.  I guess I ought to know it before we get
married."

"The name is Daniel Kevin Maguire," he replied with a grin.  "But
sure, Maureen Murphy Callahan, and why should we be getting
married?  Aside from the fact that I love you so damned much I
can't see straight, that is."

Introductions were made and even J.J. decided that an Irish cadet
colonel commanding the entire Corps of Cadets at West Point might
not be too very bad, even for a Celtic princess.

* * *

Late in April Janice came down to breakfast.  After Pete had
eaten and left the house, Jan lay down on her back on the floor
while Vangie knelt beside her and very gently massaged her
now-swelling abdomen.  She used a combination of oils which
softened the skin and made stretch marks from her pregnancy less
likely to appear.  The older woman had positioned a tiny pillow
under Jan's head and then proceeded gently to oil her entire
body.  As Vangie's fingertips moved over her body, Jan just
moaned and wriggled in pleasure.  As she enjoyed the wonderful
sensations she whispered, "Evangeline Collins, how can you stand
it?  Why do you do this for me every day?"

With her fingers still moving slowly and gently Vangie replied,
"Because I love it, Jan."  Gently she rested her fingertips on
Jan's swollen abdomen and kept them there.  Jan's eyes were open
again and she saw the most beautiful look come over Vangie's
face.  "I can feel your child, Jan, moving around in there.  What
does it feel like?"  Jan could see tears form in the woman's eyes
as she added, "As usual, when I was pregnant I was so damned
selfish and self-centered, all I could do was bitch about being
as big as a house.  I don't think I was ever aware of Cathy
moving inside me.  Do you like the feeling?"

"It's the most wonderful sensation in the world, dear Vangie,"
Jan replied softly.  "You can't know what it's like for a former
prostitute to be giving birth.  I feel wonderful, thanks to you.
And I can still take Pete inside me, at least for a few more
weeks, anyway.  There's a tiny life in there.  I can't wait to
hold my baby in my arms."  Her eyes opened wide and showed
concern.  "Do you think I'll be able to nurse my baby?  Are my
tits big enough?  Will I have enough milk?  Will it be good
enough to feed my baby?"

Taking more of the fragrant oil, Vangie again worked on Jan's
tits.  "Would you like a job as a cow?" she asked with a grin. 
"You're utterly perfect!  Jan, I can't believe a girl could be
better prepared or equipped to be a mother than you.  I only pray
it will be as easy for Cathy."

They quietly talked about the wonderful news: Connie Cartwright
had just given birth to a baby girl.  The delivery had only taken
minutes and Connie and the baby were both fine.  Jan had spoken
to her sister in her hospital room the previous evening just
after she had nursed her infant.  She was still bubbling over
with the memory.  Then Jan said that Ali wanted Vangie to come to
Los Angeles.  It was time to have her hair done again.  Vangie
just grinned wryly and shook her head in amusement.

Vangie's was a very quick trip to Los Angeles.  She had dinner
with the Cliffords and found Ali showing her pregnancy to the
same degree Jan was -- which is to say, hardly at all.  Although
she was entering her seventh month, she was barely starting to
bulge even though her baby was as active in her belly as Jan's. 
Ali had Vangie almost on the floor laughing as she told about the
strange faces she had made and the very strange looks she had
received a few days earlier when, on a visit to a department
store's baby department, her infant had become very active,
kicking up a storm.  "I think some people must have thought I was
drunk," Ali concluded with a grin.  "At one point the little
thing kicked so hard I had to grab a counter top to keep from
being knocked down!  I suppose if I looked a little more pregnant
I wouldn't receive such strange looks, though."

The two women visited Connie Cartwright in the hospital.  Her
husband, Chip, was there with her and he was in Heaven.  He just
sat beside her bed with a look of adoration on his face while he
watched his wife use her perfectly shaped, milk-swollen breasts
to feed their new baby girl.  When asked, her only comment was
that the entire pregnancy and delivery had been so completely
painless and uneventful, she scarcely was aware that the whole
thing had happened.

She had one major complaint, though.  "What am I going to do when
all of the other young mothers start talking about their morning
sickness, loss of balance, and three-day labors?" she asked with
a wail.  "I don't have a single war-story to tell.  Not one!  All
I can say is that Chip made passionate love to me, I got
pregnant, and nine months later a gorgeous baby girl appeared
after about five minutes and one hard push.  They'll drum me out
of the corps!"

The next morning Vangie visited Henry Hall.  Again he used his
magnifying glass to examine the roots of her hair and just
smiled.  "Hot damn!" he exclaimed.  "I got it right."  Then he
used a magnifying mirror to show Vangie the difference between
the dyed ends and her natural hair color growing up from the
roots.  Because her hair fell below her shoulder, more than
four-fifths of it was still dyed.  "Look, Vangie," he said, "You
can see the life and natural color variation in your own hair
that we can't possibly get in the very best dye jobs.  You're
utterly beautiful, and I certainly hope I'll continue to see
you."  She kissed him warmly and winked as she left his studio.

Vangie's plane arrived late at O'Hare, so she didn't see Jan
until the next morning.  While she was oiling Jan's body again,
the younger woman casually mentioned that there would be a guest
for dinner who would be staying overnight.  She asked Vangie to
prepare for a very special guest and plan the menu appropriately.
 Asking if there were any special likes, dislikes, or dietary
restrictions, Vangie was assured that there were none.

That evening, as she was putting the finishing touches on the
dinner, Jan came in and lightly kissed her.  Then she asked if
she would mind wearing the standard maid's uniform at the
Stewarts: A large black bow set back on her head.  Jan shook her
head in feigned dismay and added, "Of course, you can't wear the
full uniform."  Vangie looked at her with a question in her eyes
while showing signs of disappointment.  Jan grinned and added,
"The full uniform includes a tiny black bow pinned to your pubic
hair, but you don't have any.  Incidentally, Mrs. Collins, your
loins are beautiful!"

Vangie spread her legs and gently ran her slender fingers up her
slit while she looked thoughtful.  Then with a bright smile she
said, "How about if I use Scotch tape?"  Jan just laughed and
Vangie went to her room.  There she took a bath for a change and
poured musk oil in her slit and spread it all over her body. 
Then she spent a long time brushing her hair until it glowed with
its natural oils.  Finally she set the large bow carefully on the
back of her head.  Aside from the bow, there were only two bobby
pins positioned in the same places as Cathy's.

Even though it was not yet May, the weather in the Chicago area
was unseasonably warm.  As a result, Jan had even turned on the
swimming pool lights and Vangie was not concerned about being
chilled when she went to open the door to greet the guest. 
Swinging it open wide, she just stood there frozen in surprise. 
It was Edgar Bradley.

He looked at her, softly whistled, and asked, "May I come in,
Vangie?"  He entered the hallway and she closed the door.  Then,
moving almost as if in a trance, she went into his outstretched
arms.  Her lips were quivering and she could feel tears forming
in her eyes when Ed put his arms around her, squeezed tightly,
and kissed her.

It was the way she had remembered it from the last time they were
together, but so much better!  She could feel the electricity
flow and hear the bells.  To his surprise she quickly ushered him
into the living room and scampered out.  A few minutes later she
returned to take drink orders.  "Slave Vangie," Jan ordered, "Mr.
Bradley is our very special guest.  You're to stay with him this
evening."  She returned with the drinks minutes later.  As she
had been trained to do, she served on her knees, rising and
kneeling again with the grace and apparent ease of a ballet
dancer.

When she presented Jan with her martini, the girl put her chilled
glass between Vangie's breasts.  The woman quickly took back the
glass and disappeared toward the bar leaving Jan with her mouth
open.  When she returned, Jan asked what she had done.  "It was
inexcusable, mistress.  I need to be severely punished.  Your
martini hadn't been stirred adequately; it was insufficiently
chilled.  I'm terribly sorry and will try very hard never to do
such a thing again."

After passing the hors d'oeuvres the same way, she knelt beside
Ed's chair.  Idly he ran his fingers over her satin-smooth skin
while she knelt upright beside him while not saying a word. 
Periodically, she would pass the appetizers and often disappear
from the room for a few minutes at a time.

Finally, Jan asked about her absences.  Vangie's head was up
straight as she replied, "I'm terribly sorry, Mistress Jan.  In
the presence of Mr. Bradley my love juices are flowing
constantly.  I need to wear a tampon and keep changing it to keep
from flooding your carpet.  But I'll stop, Mistress, if you
wish."  Ed looked at her sharply and realized she had spoken the
simple truth.

The dinner replicated the one that Cathy had prepared for Ken
although Vangie didn't know it.  She served a first course of
breast of pheasant with foie gr...s and truffles, followed by
tournedos Rossini.  To her surprise she was ordered to eat in the
dining room so Ed found himself sitting across the table from
this incredibly beautiful woman whose full firm tits stared at
him.  Ed Bradley had a difficult time believing his eyes.  He
could not believe Vangie's body now.  It was golden smooth with
full breasts.  Her waist was small and her belly was very flat. 
Her slim hips flowed in beautiful lines to slender thighs and a
lovely trim little ass.  In a word, Vangie Collins was now female
perfection.  Moreover, she didn't look like she was even thirty
years old, let alone forty-five.  She was utterly beautiful.

To her surprise, Jan told her to delay the dessert course.  As
she cleared the plates from the main course, Jan asked her to
bring out champagne flutes and a bottle of Dom Perignon.  She was
puzzled but did as she was asked.  Popping the cork, she served
the champagne and, responding to a motion from Jan, returned to
her seat.  Ed Bradley looked at her from across the table and
said quietly, "Evangeline Pierce Collins, will you marry me?"

Hearing the words Vangie's heart turned over and tears again
formed in her eyes.  This time she couldn't control them. 
"Please no, Ed," she cried.  "I would be very proud to be your
mistress and would be happy to help you find a wonderful woman to
be your wife.  Perhaps she might even let me stay on as your cook
and housekeeper.  But Ed, you can't want to marry me!  I'm the
poorest excuse for a woman and a human being God ever made.  Why
I didn't just die at birth as one of God's occasional mistakes,
only He knows.  Please, Ed!  No."

"But I adore you, Vangie," Ed said quietly.  "I won't comment on
what you were if you don't comment on what I was.  I've been
working to try to make myself worthy of you, my darling. 
Obviously, I wasn't nearly as successful as you were.  I guess I
didn't try nearly as hard.  Honey, I need you!  And I heard you
speak earlier about your love juices flowing when I appeared so I
think you do care for me, at least a little.  Please marry me,
Vangie!"

When she looked into his eyes all she saw was love.  Finally she
said in a voice barely above a whisper, "Are you sure, Ed?  Are
you absolutely sure?"

Suddenly his face brightened as he realized he had won her.  He
said, "I'm totally sure, my darling.  Please say yes!"

She nodded her head and then, holding her head up straight, she
said, "Thank you, Ed Bradley.  You have just made me the happiest
woman in the whole world!  I will marry you."  He jumped from his
chair and came around the table as she rose to greet him.  Taking
her into his arms, he hugged her tightly and melted her with a
kiss.  It was better than anything before as their love for each
other just flowed between them.  Her arms were locked tight
behind his neck as she felt her joints turn to water while their
kiss just continued and their passion mounted.

Finally, he gently released her and she could feel her joints
reforming.  When they did, she let go and looked up at him with
the most joyous smile on her face he had ever seen.  Reaching
into his pocket he took out a ring.  Taking her left hand in his,
he gently slipped it on her third finger and then kissed her
again.  It was only when she was again seated that she looked at
it.  Glittering up at her was the most magnificent diamond she
had ever seen.

She looked at Ed and he just shook his head.  "I failed,
darling," he said, feigning sadness.  "I searched for the most
brilliant diamond I could find because I knew that anything less
would be lost against the brilliance of your eyes.  But it just
isn't good enough, my darling.  It's not even close to your
natural brilliance."  Vangie just smiled at him warmly.

Pete offered a toast to Vangie and while the others drank it, she
just looked down at the tabletop.

Then she remembered Jan's pregnancy and looked at her in alarm. 
"But, Jan!  The baby!"  Jan said the champagne would just help
the baby sleep better that night and then winked at her.

After a toast to the couple, Vangie served dessert, coffee and
cognac.  She and Jan both had light panatella cigars, another
accouterment that was new to the woman since she moved in with
the Stewarts.  Ed just looked at her and smiled.  Even though the
evening was now revealed as her engagement party, Vangie insisted
on cleaning up while the others retired to the living room.  She
finished her work in record time and returned to the room to find
the Stewarts excusing themselves to go to bed, leaving Vangie
alone with Ed.  Jan's parting words were an invitation to try out
the swimming pool before retiring.

When the Stewarts went upstairs, Vangie looked at Ed with a
question in her eyes.  Again he took her in his arms, kissed her
lovingly, and then asked about swimming.  She grinned and said
that she would have to take off her whole uniform, and he would
have to strip.  When he just nodded, she began to undress him
carefully.  She was on her knees when she pulled down his shorts
releasing his magnificent cock, now in full erection.  Leaning
forward, she kissed its tip and then ran her tongue lightly all
over it.  Looking up at his face she asked softly, "Ed, are you
really going to marry me?  Are you really sure?"

"I'm absolutely sure," he replied, "but why do you ask?"

"Darling, would it bother you terribly, then, if I don't ask you
to share my bed and make love to me tonight?  I'll be honest, my
darling.  If you ask, my answer is yes.  But if we're going to be
married, I'm sure it will be soon and... and I want to be married
when you take me.  Do you mind?  Of course, if you ask..."  He
just smiled at her and lifted her up from her knees.

The two ran out to the pool and began to swim up and down.  As
they went back and forth, Ed began to pick up the pace until he
was swimming as fast as he ever had in his life.  For the last
three months, following the advice he had been given, he had been
working out very seriously and doing a great deal of swimming. 
Yet in spite of swimming ever faster, Vangie just effortlessly
maintained his pace while moving with the grace of a porpoise. 
Moreover, while he was churning the water, she seemed to move
without any apparent effort.  However, she left roiled water in
her wake as testimony to her power moving through it.  Then, with
a shake of her head, she accelerated and just left him in her
wake.  At the end of the next lap he pulled himself from the pool
and just watched as she moved through the water.  After two more
laps she pulled herself out, sat beside him on the pool edge, and
squeezed water from her long hair.

Turning toward him, she knelt on the pool deck and studied his
body.  She ran her fingertips through the hair on his chest and
then lightly traced the muscles in his shoulders and upper arms.
She looked up at him and deliberately licked her lips.  "It's
only right that you do that," he said.  "You chewed me up in the
pool just now.  How did you do it, Vangie?  I thought my times
were pretty good."

"I cheated," she said quietly.  "I don't have any pubic hair to
slow me down or a huge cock and balls loaded with delicious cum
to create drag in the water."  Then she said, "Honey, I think
that cooled me off enough so that I can sleep.  Can we call it a
night?"

He grinned, kissed her softly on the lips, and then kissed the
tip of her small nose.  "I guess so," he agreed.  Hand in hand
they went back to the house and went to their separate
bedrooms.*Chapter 57*

Following their return to Maui on the day after the Pro Bowl,
Cathy and Ken were greeted like royalty at the hotel.  The first
night back when they went down to dinner, a few diners near the
entrance saw them arrive and then stood up to applaud.  Their
applause attracted the attention of others who stood and joined
them.  By the time they were at their seats the entire room was
on its collective feet.  Ken whispered to Cathy, "Darling, this
is for you.  Why don't you say something so we can eat?"

"Thank you so much, everyone!" she said loudly.  "But, like you,
we're out here for a vacation and relaxation.  Why don't we all
just enjoy the great food?"  She waved and sat down.

After the tribute they encountered a very common occurrence among
celebrities: Even though almost everyone knew who they were, the
overwhelming majority respected their privacy and left them
alone.  While this was true for most of the people, unfortunately
it was not true for all.  They had finished their dinner and were
teasing Kris about the enormous sundae she had ordered, when two
rather mannish-looking women came over to the table.  Cathy saw
them coming and murmured under her breath, "Uh, oh!  Here's
trouble!"

The pair came up and introduced themselves.  Both were faculty
members in the Women's Studies Department at the University of
California at Berkeley.  One of the women, Sarah Smith, began to
gush about how Cathy had struck a blow for women everywhere by
demonstrating that nothing was now off limits.  She had beaten
men at their own male-chauvinist game, professional football. 
Cathy listened patiently to the diatribe although at one point
she turned to Ken and rolled her eyes.  He controlled himself and
didn't laugh at the face she made when she did.

When Sarah wound down, Cathy shook her head and answered, "Thank
you for your kind words.  It's a shame that almost everything you
just said is wrong.  Beating men?  You've got to be kidding! 
Just look."  With that she moved closer to Ken who was wearing a
short-sleeved shirt while she was wearing a sleeveless dress
which left her arms bare.  "Look at my arm against Ken's.  His
would make at least four of mine.  Upper body strength?  You've
got to be kidding!  He's easily capable of breaking me in half.

"I guess I do have strong legs.  They come from maintaining my
virginity until my wedding night."  At that comment the two women
turned white and then blushed crimson.  "You see, I had to be
able to run fast when necessary," she said with a smile.  "As for
the rest?  My ambition is to be a mother to Ken's children...
_lots_ of children.  My favorite exercise is in bed with him at
night.

"Ladies, thank you, but I'm afraid you're barking up the wrong
tree!  Now, if you'll leave us, we have to ensure that my sister
gets plenty of food.  She came within a hair's breadth of dying
and that was only a couple of weeks ago, so..."  The woman
quickly retreated toward their own table.

Ken controlled his mirth but Kristin was much more outspoken. 
"Dumb lesbian bitches!" she said, not making any effort to avoid
their hearing her comment.  Then she turned to Cathy and said,
"Incidentally, thank you both.  You've solved a mystery for me."
They both looked at her puzzled.

"Cath, it's the noises you make when Ken is fucking your ass off.
 You see, we were in a house in Minnesota that had thin walls or
strange acoustics or something.  Anyway, almost every night I
would hear my mother crying out.  It sounded like she was in
terrible pain.  Then in the morning I would see her at breakfast.
 Often she looked tired, but she always had the most glorious
expression of happiness on her face.  It was obvious to me that
Dad was torturing her somehow.  I even began to read the Marquis
de Sade because I was sure Mom was a masochist.  She had to be. 
How else could you explain the combination of the screams of pain
at night during her torture with the look of bliss on her face in
the morning?"  When she smiled warmly, Cathy took her hand and
held it.  Her face was still skeletal but there seemed to be a
little flesh on it now, too.

"Now I know, of course.  They were making exactly the same noises
you two make every night.  Dad was screwing her silly!"  Then she
grinned and said, "My brother, Steve, and I were always trying to
get them to get more exercise.  Dad always said he got enough,
thank you very much.  Then one night just before they were
killed, I overheard Mom talking to him about it.  She said they
should get more exercise with us because 'it's good for the
kids.'  Dad said that if it wasn't for his preferred exercise,
there wouldn't have been any kids.  I didn't understand what that
comment meant, either."

She squeezed Cathy's hand and took Ken's in her other.  Now there
were tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.  "I guess I learned
something else, too.  Now I know why I wanted to die.  You see,
although I didn't realize it, I grew up in a cocoon of love.  My
parents adored each other and even though Steve and I didn't see
it in those terms, we knew what a wonderful place home was.  When
it ended with their deaths, deep down I guess I couldn't face the
thought of life on any other terms."  Her tears were really
rolling now as she squeezed both hands hard.

"Then I met you two.  First, I guess I liked the idea of having
the chance to meet a celebrity.  That was good for about ten
minutes.  After that it was a deep-down recognition that you two
share the same kind of love my parents did, even if I couldn't
put it into words.  Anyway, thank you."  Ken and Cathy both
squeezed the girl's hand and then kissed each other with
increasing passion.

Cathy said simply, "Kris, thank you so much.  We really love you,
darling."

When they went back to their room and prepared for bed, Kris
slept with them but insisted on sleeping on Ken's left side.  She
claimed she needed to practice molding her body to a man's even
though she still didn't have a body to mold.

The next day they began an idyllic existence consisting of
exercise, sun, food, and lovemaking.  Late that week Cindy called
Cathy over and asked about their plans.  Cathy was puzzled but
told her they were going to stay another week and then return to
Chicago.  At that Cindy just shook her head and said, "Oh no,
you're not!  You're staying right here."

"But Cindy, my job!" Cathy protested.

"I talked with Dad and he talked with the owners of the bank. 
Your assignment... and Ken's, since he's on the payroll now,
too... is to stay here and get that girl back in shape.  I figure
that's going to be good for about three more months.  Catherine
Collins Bradley, just to make it simple enough for even you to
understand, if either of you sets foot in Chicago before May 1,
you're fired!  Understand?  Oh, one more thing: Don't ask the
hotel for a bill.  There won't be one.  Am I making myself
clear?"  Cathy just looked at her and then hugged her tightly.

When she returned to where Ken and Kris were waiting on their
towels on the nude beach, she was kicking the sand and doing a
perfect imitation of a petulant little girl.  "What's wrong,
Hon?" ken asked.  He recognized the playacting for what it was so
whatever the problem might be, it wasn't very serious.

"Damn Cynthia Martin Burke, anyhow!" Cathy exclaimed, kicking at
the sand again.

When she looked up at him there was anguish in her eyes and he
began to be concerned.  Maybe it was more serious than he had
thought.  He just looked up at her from his supine position on
his towel and waited for her to amplify her remarks.

"Ken," she wailed, "we're stuck here on the beach _for three more
months!_  Cindy won't let us off this godforsaken island, let
alone back in Chicago, least of all back at work."  Tears were
flowing now as she cried, "You're on the bank's payroll now, too,
by the way.  Cindy said if either of us show our faces in Chicago
before May 1, we're _both_ fired."

Nodding her head she continued, "And she's checking, too. 
Someone else is picking up all of our bills here on Maui, by the
way."  Then she dropped to her knees on the sand, took Kristin's
hands in hers and said, "Kris, I'm so terribly sorry!  I know
what a hardship it is for you to be stuck out here on the far
side of nowhere with us, but we have no other choice!"

In just the short time they had been on Maui, there had been a
remarkable change in Kris's appearance.  Her eyes were no longer
sunken and she didn't look nearly as skeletal as she had at
first.  She was kneeling on her towel and now managed to look
totally woebegone.  Her tears began to flow as she said, "You
mean, Sis, we're stuck here?  In this place with dthis... this...
atrocious weather?"  As usual, the sky was a brilliant blue, it
was clear across the Molokai Channel, the surf was up and the
temperature was delightful in the low eighties.  "Well," she said
sorrowfully, "If you and Ken are stuck her, I'll... I'll try to
bear up, too.  I'll try to be brave," she sniffed, wiping at her
tears.  "I'll stick it out."

Cathy dropped to her knees and applauded as did Ken.  Kris turned
off her tears instantly and grinned.  Then she said in a more
serious tone, "Can you two really stand me for three more months,
though?"  They agreed that they would try very hard.

At the end of the following week, they hosted a party for the
others who were returning to Chicago.  They had obtained copies
of Chicago papers featuring the havoc wreaked by a series of
blizzards and severe winter storms that had been ravaging the
area.  The most dramatic stories had been enlarged into posters
which they hung on the walls of their private dining room.

Kris and Cathy both dressed as castaways with ragged shirts and
shorts.  Cathy's shirt -- an old work shirt with the sleeves torn
off -- was ripped and even had a gaping hole in front that her
left breast often poked through.  She would just unconcernedly
push it back whenever it did.  Ken was only wearing a pair of
oil-stained Levi's with the legs cut off.  Now he had a golden
tan and his chest hair had been bleached almost white by the sun.
 Kristin was only wearing the bottom portion of a tiny bikini
that, in view of her lack of flesh, scarcely stayed on. 
Periodically it would slip down exposing her slit but she just
pulled it back up, usually with an exasperated look on her face.
The three who were staying toasted the others and expressed envy
that they were able to return to civilization and real weather,
while they had to remain on the island to await their rescue.

After dinner Cathy quietly left the table.  When she returned a
few minutes later, she was wearing a grass skirt and an array of
leis.  To everyone's surprise Kris began to play _Aloha_ on a
ukelele and sing the ancient song in Hawaiian in a beautiful
soprano voice while Cathy danced the hula.  Her dancing came as a
big surprise to everyone except Ken, who realized that his wife
was the most perfectly coordinated person he had ever met.

As a result she had learned to do a truly authentic hula after
receiving only a few lessons from one of the native performers
who worked at the hotel.  As she neared the end of her dance she
danced in front of each of the departing men, took off one of her
leis and put it around his neck.  When she came to the last man,
Dan Burke, she shed the last of her leis and was now naked to the
waist.  Her perfectly shaped golden breasts, initially hidden by
the flowers, were now proudly bared.  When she finished the
dance, she ended on her knees and bowed from the waist and let
her long hair sweep the floor in front of her.  Then she rose and
fled back to the dressing room.

When she returned in her beachcombers garb, Cindy said in a very
flat voice, "Speaking for all of us, Cathy, I just want you to
know that we hate you."  Is there _anything_ you can't do like an
expert?  I happen to know that you just performed probably the
finest hula seen on the Islands in at least ten years."

Then she grinned, went over to her friend, took her in her arms,
and hugged her tightly.  Releasing her she said, "Actually,
darling Cathy, we would all hate your guts if we didn't love you
so damned much.  And please take care of our sister, Kris, will
you?  We're already fighting over her babysitting schedule!"

The subsequent weeks were heavenly.  Kris recovered most of her
lost weight after only six weeks and by the end of March was back
to normal.  Although she complained bitterly about being
flat-chested, Cathy teased her by saying she needed _something_
to look forward to.  After all, she was only fourteen.  The fact
was that her breasts were starting to form.  Already her nipples
and areolas had formed and her breasts had already taken the
outline of what would be perfect shapes.  The three played golf,
tennis, and even started to throw around a football.  Mostly,
though, they spent time soaking up the sun on the nude beach and
swimming in the perfect Pacific water.

One day in mid-March, they were lying on the beach when Kris
knelt on the sand between them.  Pointing out that while Cathy
had been putting sun screen on her from the very first day, she
had done nothing.  It was time to reciprocate now that her
fingers were more than skin-covered bones.  Taking the bottle,
she carefully spread it all over Cathy's beautiful body,
relishing the sensation of running her fingertips over her
satin-smooth skin.  She paid particular attention to her breasts,
her inner thighs and slit, and her wonderfully firm little buns.

Then she turned her attention to Ken.  Cathy got up, knelt on her
towel and watched as Kris did to him what she had just finished
doing for her.  Now she had overcome her original nervousness and
lavished her care on his cock and balls.  Ken was so large she
was able to cradle his balls in both of her hands.  Turning to
Cathy she asked, "Are all men this... this full and soft and
wonderful?  And doesn't he look just super with his tanned cock?
Oh, Cathy, you're so lucky!"

Then she looked at her and asked, "Cath, would you do me a favor?
 Would you lie on your back and spread your legs wide?"  Cathy
thought she knew what the beautiful girl, who she had come to
think of as her younger sister, was driving at, so she lay down,
spread her legs, and used her fingertips to spread her labia as
far apart as she could while lifting her pelvis up off thetowel.

Kris looked from Ken's massive cock, now fully erect from her
manual attention, to her sister's cunt that was being opened wide
for her inspection.  Shaking her head in bewilderment she said,
"I still don't understand it, Cath.  How can he possibly get that
massive weapon into your tiny cunt?  There's no way, but he
does."

Cathy released her nether lips, quickly jumped up, and then knelt
again beside the younger girl.  "He sure does, though, doesn't
he?  Frankly, I don't know, either.  All I do know is that he
takes me to Heaven and I adore it and adore him!"  Kris just
shook her head and finished spreading the lotion on Ken's
heavily-muscled body.

There were other surprises from Kris.  It turned out that she was
an expert chess player and they initiated what became a constant
round of chess matches among the three of them.  The girl used
her skill to play for favors.  After one round robin when she had
defeated Ken and Cathy in succession, they looked at her
skeptically and Ken asked, "Okay, little kid, you won.  What did
you win?"

As usual the three were in their suite and naked.  She licked her
lips lasciviously and said, "Ken, Cathy has been after you to
take the last of her virginity... to take her in the ass.  I want
you to do it, and I want to help!"  Ken had been resisting Cathy
because he was afraid he would rip her.  She licked her lips
salaciously and told him that it was now out of their hands.

They went into the bedroom and Cathy knelt on the bed with her
ass in the air as high as it would go.  Kris took a tube of K-Y
jelly and, as gently as she could, spread it around Cathy's
puckered amber ring, then used it to liberally coat Ken's
now-throbbing cock.  With all the lubrication, his entry was
amazingly easy, although hardly painless.  Moments later, though,
Cathy was screaming in ecstasy.

When her cunt started to flow, Kris was lying on her back under
her sister to catch as much as she could in her mouth.  After he
had shot gallons of cum into Cathy's ass and she had collapsed
after a massive orgasm, the two were up at the head of the bed
with Ken's back against the headboard and Cathy's head on his
shoulder.

Cathy looked at Kris whose face and hair were still saturated
with Cathy's love juice.  She grinned and said, "Okay, pumpkin. 
What did you think?"

"I thought it was heavenly!  Cathy, I've heard you use the term
and you're right: You do taste like an exquisite nectar.  When
can we do it again?"  Cathy could still feel the pain from her
stretched anal ring, but could also still feel the wonderful
sensations Ken had created inside her.  She replied that it would
be very soon.

Then there was Kris's reading.  Cathy remembered her reference to
the Marquis de Sade and asked her about it.  It turned out she
hadn't been kidding... she had read it.  Kris was a voracious
reader and she and Cathy began to debate the strengths and
weaknesses of various literary classics.  This continued to the
point that it forced Ken to read the works in self-defense.  They
were both impressed with Kris's keen intellect, so they asked her
what grade she was in in school.

The girl grinned and replied with a question, "Where would you
like me to be?  High-school freshman to college freshman?  I can
make the tests come out to whatever score you'd like to have." 
Ken just shook his head.  They now knew her well enough to know
it was probably true.

On their last day on the island they were stretched out on their
towels on the nude beach.  Cathy got up, knelt on her towel and
just looked down at Kris.  The girl's body was now utterly
magnificent.  Although she was still developing as a woman, it
was obvious that she would be stunningly beautiful when she
physically matured.  More than mere outlines of her budding
womanhood were already beautifully clear.  Sensing Cathy's eyes
on her, Kris opened hers.  Then Cathy bent over and softly kissed
the girl on the lips and whispered, "Thank you, Little Sister."

Kris lifted her torso up with her elbows and looked at Cathy with
a question in her eyes.  "'Thank you?' For what, may I ask, are
you thanking _me?"_ she asked.  "Cathy, all I owe you and Ken is
my life and any future happiness.  For what could you possibly be
thanking me?" she repeated.

Ken also opened his eyes and propped himself up to listen.  Cathy
replied, "For drowning us in love.  For stimulating us mentally.
For being so incredibly thoughtful, it's beyond belief.  For
allowing us to help you.  For being the person you are, Kris." 
Tears were flowing now as she added, "When we asked you to stay
with us, we thought we were doing you a favor.  It turned out to
be the other way around.  Do you know what Ken asked me, the bum!
 He asked me how he could possibly be expected to sleep with only
one woman.  He also claims your body is even more supple than
mine!  And we haven't even finished our honeymoon yet, for
Christ's sake," she wailed.

Kris reached out, hugged Cathy and then hugged Ken.  "Regardless,
Bradleys, thank you with all of my heart!  Thank you for saving
my life."  Then her face saddened and she added, "I can't tell
you how hard it's going to be to leave you two when this is over.
 But I can't stay any longer with two young people whose privacy
I have constantly invaded."

Cathy looked at her and asked, "Kris, do you like the name,
Bradley?  Would you like truly to be Kristin Crowley Bradley?" 
The girl's eyes widened with excitement and she eagerly replied
that nothing could be better.  "That's great," Cathy continued,
"because I have a plan.  Honey, I know it sounds odd, but Ken's
father and my mother are going to be married.

"Mom is really sad, and I believe her.  You see, she says that my
entire upbringing was delegated to hired help, beginning with the
most wonderful woman who nursed me at her breast when I was an
infant.  Anyway, I just know that nothing could make my mother
happier than to have a teen-aged daughter to really fuss over." 
She smiled warmly and added, "And, Kris, you're such a remarkable
young person she'll absolutely adore you.  Would you be willing
to allow yourself to be adopted by our parents?  Would you like
to really be our kid sister?"

Tears were now flowing in twin streams from Kris's magnificent
purple eyes as she said, "Cathy and Ken, nothing could make me
happier or more proud than to have you as my brother and sister."
 Then she grinned through her tears and asked, "But doesn't it
make the relationships a little odd, though?  Would Ken be my
brother or my brother-in law?"  Then she giggled and said, "It
sounds like such wonderfully incestuous fun!  Just imagine,
Cathy, you married your own brother!"

Cathy leaned over towards Ken.  Both were kneeling on their
towels and were supporting their weight on their hands so only
their lips came together.  Both concentrated on communicating
their love and their passion through their lips.  It was a
magnificent kiss that left them both breathless as they slowly
parted.  "He doesn't kiss me like a brother," Cathy said, still
breathless.  "And he sure as hell doesn't fuck me like one,
either!"  They agreed to work on the details to try to make the
adoption happen.

As it neared time for them to return home, they learned that
arrangements had been changed.  Instead of flying directly to
Chicago, Cindy had called and asked them to stop off in Los
Angeles.  With a chuckle she reminded Cathy that Ali Clifford had
wanted to see her after ninety days.  Originally she had wanted a
photograph, but now would only settle for the real-life Cathy.

Accordingly, they took a flight to Los Angeles and Ali met them
at the airport.  Cathy and Ali embraced and held each other at
arm's length.  Although Ali was in the seventh month of her
pregnancy, the only external sign was the slightest bulging of
her abdomen.

For her part Ali just shook her head and said, "Catherine Collins
Bradley, when I first saw you I said you were going to be a
beauty.  I didn't know the half of it, did I?  Woman, you're
utterly magnificent!"  Then she grinned and said, "As far as my
pregnancy is concerned, wait till you feel my baby move around. 
It's so much fun!  I may offer myself as a surrogate mother and
make a business out of growing the little things.  I really love
it!"  Then she turned to Kris and said, "And who, may I ask, is
this young vision?  I thought I heard something about a sick
child staying with you?"

"Ali," Cathy replied, "may I introduce Kristin Elizabeth Crowley?
 I don't know what to say about Kris except to say she's my
younger sister, but I love her far more than if she had been born
that way."

Ali took the girl in he arms and hugged her tightly.  then she
turned to Cathy and Ken and said, "Thank you both, so very much.
I talked with my husband, Bill, about what you two did and we
agree that this girl would not be alive if it weren't for you
two.  You saved a life that's very much worth saving.  This young
lady is utterly exquisite!"

They went out to Ali's waiting limousine and were whisked to the
hotel.  There Bill Clifford repeated the welcome.  That evening
Ali asked Cathy about her plans for Kris.  Cathy told her what
she had been thinking about and even some to the details the
three of them had discussed.  Ali just clapped her hands in glee
and thought it was the best idea she had ever heard.  Then she
added some ideas of her own to their plans.

The next day Bill and Ken went off to play golf while the girls
were taken to see Henry Hall.  He was going to tell Cathy he had
seen her mother only a few days before, but saw Ali's look of
warning and said nothing.  Henry worked on Kris first.  After
looking at her hair, he took out a powerful magnifying glass to
examine it more closely.  Then he invited Ali and Cathy to look
at what he had found.  As a final test, he ran a comb through her
hair.  As he expected the hairs snapped off at the same place
every time.  Turning to Cathy he asked, "This girl was suffering
from acute malnutrition, wasn't she?  Did she almost starve to
death just four to six months ago?"

Cathy just nodded and Kris spun around in the chair to look at
him.  "How could you possibly know that?" she asked.

He explained that there was an obvious weakness in her hair at
the same place on every strand.  "The only thing I've ever heard
of that can create such a condition is starvation."

She acknowledged that she had been very close to death.  Looking
at Cathy she said, "Sis, I guess there's something else I didn't
tell you: I would have been dead within three days of the time
you met me.  Remember on the plane?  the doctors said I had about
three months to live?  Theywere wrong.  It was only three days. 
Actually, I was amused thinking that I really only needed a
one-way ticket to Hawaii, and money for airfreight to come
back... in a pine box.  Thank you, Cathy, for saving my life. 
You and Ken have become tremendously important to me, and I can't
tell you how I really feel about you both."  The three people
just looked at the girl and Henry turned as pale as a sheet. 
Cathy took Kris in her arms and just hugged her.  Then she asked
Henry what he planned to do.

"The answer, I guess, is to cut off all of her old hair.  If I
don't, it will just be constantly falling out, anyway."  Then he
looked at Kris carefully and pulled her hair back starkly off her
face.  Shaking his head he said, "You know something?  I think
this is going to turn out to be a blessing in disguise.  Ali,
just look!"  Ali and Cathy stood on each side of him, directly in
front of the girl.  "Now look at her," he said.  "Have you ever
seen a finer facial bone structure?  She has the daintiest ears
I've ever seen.  What I'm going to do is give her a haircut like
a boy's, but no one with even half an eye will ever confuse her
with a male!"

Ali looked at Kris carefully and nodded.  Henry went to work with
his scissors while the women left the studio.  They were with the
studio's senior makeup stylist when a call came from Henry that
he was finished.  He asked the stylist, Helen Cumins, to join the
women; there was someone he wanted her to meet.

Returning to the hairdressing studio, they went back to where
Kris was still sitting patiently in the chair.  Since he had
positioned the chair so that her back was toward the mirror, all
she could see was a large pile of her hair covering the floor
around the chair.  Cathy took a look and stopped, stunned.  Kris
was incredibly beautiful!  Henry had cut her hair like a boy's
leaving it just a little longer in front where he swept it in a
wave off her face.  After brushing it back on the sides, it came
together like a duck's tail in the back.  However, his
expectation was proven correct: she looked intensely feminine in
spite of wearing no makeup at all.  Her hair was a golden blonde
and was set off by her golden tan.  Her purple eyes peered out
from under fine eyebrows and extraordinarily full eyelashes, now
bleached almost white by the sun.

Before Cathy could say a word, Helen Cumins exclaimed, "My God,
Henry, where did you find this goddess?  She's the most
extraordinary beauty I've ever seen!"  She looked the girl over
carefully while she was still encased in the hairdresser's sheet.
 Helen whipped it off and asked Kris to stand.  The girl did,
looking puzzled.  Cumins just whistled softly and said, "The
world isn't fair!  If it were, this girl would have a body like a
sack of flour.  Instead, the more of her you see, the better it
gets.  What movie is she starring in, Ali?"  Looking at Ali's
grin, she asked, "She's starring in a major film, isn't she?  I
have never in my life beheld such incredible beauty!"

At this point Kris couldn't take it anymore.  She not only didn't
know who this woman was, but she really had no idea what she
could possibly be talking about.  Turning, she saw her reflection
in the mirror and gasped, "My God, Cath!  Is that _me?"_

"It sure is, sis!" Cathy exclaimed softly.  "Do you realize what
you almost did?  Depriving the world of beauty like this would
have been criminal!"

Turning to Helen she said, "Helen Cumins, I would like to
introduce my sister, Kristin Elizabeth Crowley.  Kris, Mrs.
Cumins is the head of makeup here at the studio.  Whether she's
right or not -- and I think she is -- her reactions are honest. 
She had no idea who you are."  Then she added for Helen's
benefit, "My sister is only fourteen.  What do you think?"

Again the woman gasped.  "My God!" she whispered, "Not since
Elizabeth Taylor appeared in _National Velvet_ has there been
such a youthful beauty.  And I think you have her beaten by
miles!"

Meanwhile, Kris had gone to Henry and given him a very warm kiss.
 "Mr. Hall," she said, "I don't know quite what you did, but
thank you so much!  I never realized I might be pretty, but the
girl in the mirror certainly is."

Henry returned the kiss and told her that he looked forward to
continuing to work on her hair.  then he pointed out to Helen
that there was not a speck of makeup on Kris -- just soap and
water.  The woman just shook her head again.

Then Henry reminded Ali of her question to him about doing baby's
hair and said he had begun to work his way down in age.  Ali just
grinned and gently rubbed her swelling abdomen.  When he finished
working on Cathy's hair -- he had restyled it and treated it for
sun damage -- she looked utterly fabulous.  He told her how much
he enjoyed working on hair longer than shoulder length the way
she wore hers.  As the girls left the studio to return to the
hotel, they all felt great about themselves.

The next day Ali put them on a United flight to Chicago.  As they
boarded the plane, the senior flight attendant gasped, then said
hesitantly, "Mrs. Bradley?"

Cathy immediately recognized Virginia Adams and hugged her.  Then
she introduced Kris, and Ginny began to cry.  Kris asked her what
was wrong as they moved up to the first-class section.  Ginny
smiled through her tears and said, "Kristin, I'm so happy!  I
want you to know that I'm now expecting a little girl myself." 
Cathy and Kris congratulated her and she continued by saying,
"Her name is going to be Kristin, also.  She's your fault, young
lady.  Meeting you on the plane I was so impressed by your
bravery and charm I made up my mind to have a girl of my own! 
Now I'm being harassed by my two boys.  On the other hand, my
husband, Don, thinks it's a really neat idea... and I do, too. 
May I show you something?"

When they nodded eagerly, she retrieved a photograph from her
personal belongings.  It had been taken on the outbound flight to
Hawaii and was one that none of them remembered having even been
taken.  It showed Kris sitting on Ken's lap and caught her
skeletal appearance -- and her vivid purple eyes -- perfectly. 
"May I take another, today?" she asked.  "Kristin Crowley, you're
an incredible beauty!  But what have you been doing?"

They told her about being marooned on an island and being
forbidden to come home for three months.  Ginny just laughed. 
She looked closely at Ken and the two women and said,
"Congratulations!  You've come through your ordeal remarkably
well."  She was rolling her eyes as she said it.  Later, Ginny
brought back her camera and Kris was delighted to pose for
another picture sitting on Ken's lap.  Initially, he made a face
and claimed that she wasn't nearly as light as she used to be. 
Kris just grinned at him as the shutter snapped.

They had a wonderful time on the flight back to Chicago.  While
Ken and Kris were sleeping, Cathy was worrying about her plan. 
Although Ali liked it, she really wasn't sure it would work the
way they hoped.  She wondered how her mother had been making out
in the meantime while they had been away.  For the first time she
realized that she really missed her.*Chapter 58*

One of the conditions of her slavery was that Vangie was cut off
from direct communication with anyone outside the household.  As
a result she hadn't heard from Cathy and Ken since the wedding,
and since Jan had said nothing to her, she didn't know they were
still honeymooning.

It was the first Saturday in May and she had brought coffee up to
Jan and Pete.  The couple had just completed their morning
lovemaking.  In spite of having been reamed in the ass, Jan joked
about the way she looked now when she was bent over the bed.  It
caused her abdomen to protrude but she said it was just one of
those things.  When they were resting against the headboard with
Jan's head on Pete's shoulder, Vangie was surprised to see tears
appear in Jan's eyes.  She asked what was wrong.

"It's you, Vangie," Jan replied.  "I really don't know what we're
going to do without you.  Incidentally, you're getting married a
week from today.  I didn't tell you before because I didn't want
you to worry.  I know what it's like for an innocent virgin to
face the prospect of her loss, so we tried not to upset you. 
Your slavery is at an end, of course.  Darling, all I can say is
thank you so very much.  You've been so kind and considerate! 
You've been uniformly cheerful and a joy to have around."

Jan frowned and added, "That reminds me.  I have a bone to pick
with former-slave Cindy.  I never realized what a sloppy
housekeeper she was until you came.  I'll have to speak to her
about that."

Then she said with a small smile, "Incidentally, Vangie, there's
a bridal shower for you today.  It's scheduled to start at
eleven.  I suppose you'll want to dress, won't you?"  Then she
looked at the woman with a loving look on her face and said,
"Being serious for a change, Vangie, I would consider it a
personal favor if you would look as beautiful as you possibly
can.  Will you?  For me?"

Vangie was puzzled but complied.  At ten o'clock April Jackson
appeared along with Kelly Cavanaugh and Maureen Callahan to serve
for the party.  Maureen was ecstatic to be there and the prospect
of being naked didn't faze her a bit.  When Vangie raised an
eyebrow, April said, "Some people are determined to bankrupt Jan,
Kathy Cartwright, and me by forcing us to keep buying these
damned slave collars.  Since Mo insists on having one, she's
serving today.  That's why she's so elated: She's one-upping all
the other new girls at the bank.  Kelly and I are minimizing the
damage to my bank account by working, too."

The weather that day was perfect for the party.  The sky was a
brilliant blue with the sun shining brightly and the temperature
expected to rise into the eighties.  Vangie had taken Jan's
request to heart, so she spent a lot of time on her hair,
brushing it until it gleamed with its natural oils and then
replicated Henry Hall's hairdo.

When she was finishing, she heard the doorbell ring so she ran
downstairs to greet the first guest.  It was Ed who had come to
see the loot they would collect.  He kissed her soundly and then
just held her close, enjoying the wonderful scent of her clean
body.  Now it was enhanced by the musk oil she was wearing which
was doing its work.  He had just released her when Cathy and Ken
arrived.  Mother and daughter embraced and then kissed.  They
were almost knocked over by the two-way flow of the purest love
between them, while they could feel tears running down their
cheeks.

Finally Vangie stepped away and held her daughter at arms length.
 "Darling," she said, "you couldn't look more beautiful!  You are
utterly exquisite!  But you look like you have been living in the
tropic sun.  You and Ken are just shades of gold!"  She kissed
Ken warmly and said softly, "One thing is for damned sure. 
Married life certainly agrees with you both!"

Cathy said they had returned only recently to Chicago, without
offering any further explanation.  Then she said, "Mom, I don't
think you have ever looked as good as you do now.  Ever!  In your
whole life!  My God, you look younger than I do.  And happy? 
Mommy, you're absolutely running over with happiness, aren't
you?"

"And I'm taking a leaf from you, my darling," Vangie replied. 
"I'm wearing a tampon to keep my happiness from dripping all over
Jan's lovely carpet."  Cathy clapped her hands in glee and
giggled merrily.

The girls from the bank, wearing only their white bows, took
drink orders and served.  Then all the guests gathered in the
living room to watch while Vangie opened their gifts.  Because of
their wealth and because no one knew what their plans for the
future were, virtually all were joke gifts but with a very high
order of creativity in their selection.  Vangie couldn't remember
ever having so much fun.  However, she waited in vain for a gift
from Ken and Cathy.  There was nothing.  She was a little
disappointed, but figured they hadn't had time to do any
shopping.

When all the gifts had been opened, Cathy rose from her chair and
knelt in front of her mother.  "Mom," she said, "Ken and I looked
far and wide for a gift for you and Dad, but we didn't have any
luck.  Then Ken made a breakthrough.  You know he was a Baker
Scholar at the B-School, so he applied his training in
problem-solving.  First, we reviewed the situation.  What is it
you could possibly want?  Then Ken pointed out that you have been
complaining... No!  Literally crying!... about the fact that I'm
leaving you just as you get to know me.  I think your words were
something to the effect that just as you learned the joy of
having a daughter, you lost her.

"Ken thought about it a lot.  He said, 'Let's approach this
rationally.  What does a mother really like about a child and
what is she most likely to miss?  The pregnancy?  Being unable to
walk steadily, being sick as a dog?  I doubt it.  The two-o'clock
feedings?  No.  The "terrible twos" with the child throwing food
around the room.  Highly unlikely.  So what is it?'

"I said it was probably the time when the girl reaches puberty
and starts to change physically.  It's the time a girl wants her
mother to hug her and to hold her and to tell her there will
still be life after Charley or Joe or whomever.  That's probably
what a mother loves, too.  Right?  She wants to have a young girl
confiding in her and telling her all her hopes and fears and
dreams.  She wants to hold the girl tightly and smell the
fragrance of youth.  She wants to kiss her on the lips and taste
the sweetness and purity and innocence.  Well, Mom, that made it
easy.  Wait a moment while I go and get your gift."

After the speech Vangie was puzzled.  She had no idea what her
daughter could be thinking about for a gift that solved the
problem she had identified. _But,_ she thought, _her analysis is
certainly dead on the money!_

Cathy returned to the room leading Kris by the hand.  Kris was
stunningly beautiful.  She was wearing an infant's christening
dress that had been custom-made by a top Hollywood costume
designer at Ali's request.  It was identical in design and
construction to a baby's christening dress except Kris's reached
only to her feet.  The material was so fine and sheer that Kris's
perfect body showed through clearly.  At her own insistence she
wore absolutely nothing else.  Her short hair was in the
beautiful style Henry Hall had created which accentuated the
perfection of her face and head.  She was barefoot as she padded
into the room holding Cathy's hand.

While Kris stood up straight with her immature tits protruding,
Cathy said softly, "Mom, I have a new daughter for you.  Her name
is Kristin Elizabeth Crowley.  Her teeth are good, she's very
intelligent and really quite friendly.  She's fourteen years old.
 Mother, this is your new daughter.  Kris?"

Vangie was utterly dumbstruck by the vision standing in front of
her.  Kristin had a golden tan with short hair that looked like a
yellow-gold cap.  Her most striking features were her incredible
royal-purple eyes.  Her eyebrows had been sun-bleached to a white
gold and she had incredibly long and full eyelashes.  She smiled
the warmest smile Vangie had ever seen and spoke with an
incredibly musical voice.  Vangie decided she could just listen
to this beautiful girl forever.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Collins," Kristin said softly. 
Barely-controlled tears were forming in the corners of her eyes
as she continued, "My name is Kristin Elizabeth Crowley and I
would like to apply for a position as your daughter.  I believe I
have a number of qualifications that you should consider with my
application.  First, I no longer throw food.  I no longer have to
be burped after eating.  There's seldom any need for a
middle-of-the-night feeding... and I can handle it without any
help when there is," she interjected with a beautiful smile.  "I
promise not to awaken you at night crying for attention.  I'm
even fully toilet-trained.

"As my beloved Cathy... soon to be my sister, I sincerely hope
and pray... said, I'm fourteen years old.  I'm intelligent and
physically well-coordinated.  I believe my genes are good.  My
mother was a professor of English and Dad was a professor of
history.  I grew up in a very loving household.  Like Ken and
Cathy, my parents preferred form of exercise was making love...
fucking, if you will.  In fact, it was only through Cathy and Ken
that I realized that the noises my mother made at night were not
the sounds of her being tortured, but rather the sounds she made
as Dad probed her wetness and brought her to climax after climax.
 I was hearing her transports of passion as her cum mixed with
Dad's in her magnificent love box.  I also had an older brother,
Steve.

"About a year-and-a-half ago, my whole family went to a football
game.  On the way back home I fell asleep in the car.  The next
thing I knew, it was days later and I was in a hospital.  My
whole family was dead.  I died that night, too.  My destruction
would have been complete within three days of the time I met my
new brother and sister, Ken and Cathy, who saved me.  I had been
starving myself to death and was only three days away from
succeeding.

"However, seeing their love for each other I realized the extent
to which I had been raised in a cocoon of love.  The cocoon was
destroyed, of course, by the death of my family.  I wanted to
join them, wherever they were.  But Cathy and Ken's love for each
other showed me that there is still love in the world.  I found
that I have a great deal of love to give.  Will you allow me to
give you my love, Mrs. Collins?  Please?"

She dropped to her knees in front of Vangie and extended her
hands.  Although Vangie's eyes were blurred with her tears, she
took the girl's hands in hers.  "Mrs. Collins, as I was talking,
I was watching you closely.  You're an unbelievably beautiful
woman.  I know you're Cathy's mother because you look like her
older sister..."  She smiled warmly and continued, "Her
_slightly_ older sister.  Mrs. Collins, in just a few months I
have come to love Cathy and Ken more than life itself.  Please
let me love you.  I'll do anything at all for you that's in my
power to do if you'll only give me the chance to demonstrate my
love."

Ed Bradley was standing by the doorway, stunned.  He had left
Vangie's side to get a drink after the gifts were opened, but
then Cathy led in this vision by the hand.  Glancing toward his
son, he saw Ken absolutely beaming with pride -- and enormous
love -- for this girl.  Since her only garment was virtually
transparent, it was clear that her body was utterly perfect.  As
he studied her, he realized how her boyish hairdo highlighted her
beautiful bone structure and facial features.  Everything about
her was refined and beautifully feminine.  Every move she made
was incredibly elegant and graceful.  Meanwhile the room was
totally silent as everyone hung on her words.

After rising gracefully to her feet, Kris appeared to remember
something.  "I almost forgot," she said.  "A child appears from
her mother's womb wearing nothing."

With that she reached behind her neck and released the hook that
held the back of the gown together.  With a small shake of her
shoulders the garment fell to the floor and landed in a tiny pile
at her feet.  Daintily stepping out of it she stood with her head
up and said, "Mrs Collins, I believe my color is good and my
figure is pretty good, too.  Of course I'm still flat-chested,
but my tits are starting to form."  With that she pinched her
tiny nipples which immediately engorged.  Her breasts were
utterly perfect with tiny nipples surrounded by small, pink
areolas.  Although they had not filled out yet, it was clear they
would be perfect.

"I was upset because, with my tits not yet fully formed, I would
not be perfect for your inspection.  But Cathy said that if I
were fully developed, you would miss the fun of seeing me fill
out."  When she said "fun," Kris crossed her eyes, causing Vangie
to laugh in spite of her tears.  Looking puzzled, Kris continued,
"For the life of me, I can't figure out why it would be fun, but
I'm certain that's the word she used."

Then she brightened and said, "Actually, Mrs. Collins, I'm
already Cathy and Ken's creation.  You see, when they found me I
was just skin and bones.  That's all.  Whoops!  And hair.  Of
course all my pre-Cathy-and-Ken hair is gone now, too.  When I
saw it last, it was a big pile covering the floor around the
hairdresser's chair.  So even my hair is new.  That even applies
to my pubic hair as well, and explains why it's still short." 
She touched her pubic bush which was a thick thatch of white
gold.  "I provided the skin and the bones.  Cathy and Ken made
everything else."

She appeared to be mentally reviewing the points she had intended
to make.  Then she appeared to remember some things and added, "I
think I may even have some money.  It's yours, of course.  If you
wish, I can also work in films to help support the family,
although Cathy and Ken were pretty sure it wouldn't be necessary.
 I want you to know about it, though, because it's a live option
for you to consider.  Finally, I can sing, play most musical
instruments, play tennis, football, and golf.  Also, I'm now a
very good swimmer."

Dropping to her knees she said, "Mrs. Collins, I so desperately
want you to accept me.  I'll try to make myself into anything you
want me to be, if you'll only let me be your daughter.  I already
love you desperately.  Please give me the chance to earn your
love.  I want so badly to be able to call you Mother!"  Then she
smiled with great warmth and said, "The first thing a new mother
does is to count arms, legs, fingers and toes.  Mrs. Collins,"
the girl said tremulously, "I'm ready for your inspection."

With that she smoothly rose again to her feet and stood in front
of Vangie with her head up and her shoulders back.  The great
wanting she was feeling was painfully evident in her eyes.  Even
standing still, she was posed with incredible grace and with her
budding beauty now fully revealed.

Tears were flowing unchecked from Vangie's eyes to such an extent
that she could scarcely see.  Never had she been so moved by
anything in her life.  Meanwhile, the other guests, many of whom
had met Kris on Maui, were flabbergasted at the change in her
appearance.  Now she was incredibly beautiful and the picture of
health.  Kris was just standing poised in front of her new mother
with her head up but with tears in her eyes.

With a little yelp, Vangie jumped up from the sofa, took the girl
in her arms and melted her lips to hers.  Very gently she began
to work her lips on the girl's and then probe her mouth with her
tongue.  When the two tongues came together, there was a surge of
electricity and a two-way flow of the purest love and joy. 
Reeling with emotion, the two women just held on to each other to
keep from falling down.

When Vangie was finally able to speak she murmured, "You poor
darling.  My God!  You would like me to be your mother?  Would I
accept you?  Darling Kris, I adore you already.  But what do you
know about me?  Are you sure I'm good enough to be your mother? 
Darling, nothing could possibly make me happier than to have you
as my daughter and hearing you call me Mom!  Nothing!"  Caressing
the back of her head at the hairline she said, "My darling, the
kiss we exchanged says it all: I adore you, Kristin Crowley and
desperately want you as my daughter."  Then she tried a grin and
said, "As a matter of fact, a woman is mostly naked when she
gives birth.  Since I have just given birth to a new daughter,
it's only fair that she see me, too."

Vangie unzipped the back of her dress and let it drop to the
floor.  Pulling her bikini down, she kicked off her pumps and
stepped out of her briefs.  Then she just held her new daughter
tightly in her arms.

Kris could feel Vangie's very firm breasts flattening against her
budding ones and could feel the warmth from just being held
close.  As the two ground their pelvises together, Kris could
feel the remarkable sensation of the heat from her mother's hot
cunt warming her own.  She ran her fingers lightly over Vangie's
body and realized it was as satin-smooth and beautiful as
Cathy's.

Meanwhile, Vangie was doing the same thing to her.  She realized
that this girl was essentially perfect.  The two women looked at
each other and then began to cry uncontrollably as they just
clung to each other.  Moving her head away, Vangie tipped the
girl's head and then again molded her lips to hers.  As she
worked her lips on Kris's, she could feel the girl trying to do
the same thing with her own immature ones.  When their tongues
contacted, again there was a two-way flow of massive electricity.
 Finally the tears stopped and the women released each other. 
Vangie groped around for a tissue.  Someone put a few in her hand
and she carefully dried Kris's eyes.  The girl then took one from
Vangie's hand and just as carefully dried hers.

The two women stood together and Vangie, ignoring her nakedness,
put her arm around Kris's waist and went with her to where Ed was
standing.  "Ed, this is my new daughter, Kristin, who I present
to you with all of my love.  Kris, this is your new father, Edgar
Bradley.  I'm sure he'll love you even more than I do!"

Ed's eyes were still running with tears as he took the beautiful
girl in his arms and just hugged her tightly.  "Welcome, my
darling daughter," he whispered.  "I couldn't possibly be any
happier or prouder than I am right now!"

Then Kris stepped away and said, "There's one more thing,
parents.  I'm desperately in love with my brother and sister, Ken
and Cathy Bradley.  I can't tell you all of the ways they saved
my life and then remade my body.  But I adore them and would
cheerfully give my life for theirs.  Since they are your
children, it says that you and Mom are very special.  Thank you,
Dad," and turning, she kissed Vangie lightly on the cheek and
continued, "...and you, Mom, for having me as your daughter."

Then she gave them a big grin and said, "Can we eat now?  I'm
hungry!"

Ed and Vangie escorted the girl back to the sofa where Vangie put
the gown back on her and then dressed again herself.  They
insisted that Kris sit between them while Maureen, entering fully
into the spirit of the day, served the threesome on her knees. 
Once, when her shoulders drooped, Vangie pinched her tit lightly.
 Jerking up straight, the green-eyed girl winked at Vangie and
apologized profusely for her poor behavior.  She ended by
pleading that she not be given more than twenty strokes with the
whip for such a minor infraction.  Vangie pretended to ponder her
request while looking up at the ceiling.  Finally, she said she
would consider the slave's request.

For her part, Kris watched the exchange.  Although she knew
nothing of the relationship between Vangie and Maureen, she did
know that they were teasing.  Moreover, she sensed that the
gorgeous redhead was important in some way to her new mother.  So
dropping to her knees in front of the girl, Kris took Mo into her
arms and gave her the most loving kiss the girl had ever had in
her life.  Then she said softly, "My name is Kristin Crowley. 
We've never been introduced.  But it's apparent that you're very
important to my new mother which means you're very important to
me.  Thank you for the beautiful kiss."  With that she extended
her hand.  Maureen took it and introduced herself.

Vangie just watched the exchange and felt her love for the girl
increase yet again.  While they ate and talked together, Ed was
amazed at how beautifully Kris spoke and how obviously
well-informed she was.  He couldn't believe she could be only
fourteen.

Cindy came up and knelt on the floor in front of Kris.  She put
out her hands and held Kris's, then just looked at them.  The
last time Cindy had seen her was the day they all left Maui. 
Then Kris was only skin and bones.  Now her hands were utterly
beautiful -- slim with very long fingers.  She smiled warmly at
Kris and said, "Honey, you can't know how good you make me feel
today.  First, you're the most beautiful young thing on two feet.
 Second, what you said to your mother this morning were the most
beautiful words I have ever heard.  Honey, I have gotten to know
your new mother pretty well over the last few months.  I just
want you to know that she's worthy of your love."

Hearing Cindy's words, Kris was astounded. _My mother is worthy
of my love?_ she thought. _What an amazing concept!_

Cindy continued, "Vangie, I can't say enough good things about
this young lady.  I didn't think they made them like this
anymore."

Then she grinned and added, "It's not all roses, though.  She
didn't tell you the whole truth.  The fact is this girl is an imp
-- a genuine teenybopper pest -- when she wants to be.  And, by
the way, that can occur at almost any time.

"One day at the beach on Maui -- as usual, it was the nude beach
-- we were getting ready to go back to the hotel.  Guess what? 
No robes!  And no towels, either.  Would you believe this... this
_thing!_... made us get down on our knees and beg her to give us
our robes back?  She did.  I pointed out that she didn't have
one, either.  Her response was just to grin and say that all she
had to do was walk sideways and she'd disappear."

Cindy said, "Those were in her thinner days!"  Finally, she
pulled Kris towards her, then wrapped her arms around her and
kissed her softly.  As she did, she realized how wonderful this
girl felt in her arms.  She was an incredible beauty.

Later, Ron Jackson came to pick up April and had his son, Ronnie,
with him.  Ronnie toddled into the living room and saw Susan
Cassidy talking with Kris.  Susan was Ronnie's favorite person on
earth.  When he saw them, he grinned and ran towards her, while
she had her arms outstretched to catch him.  Instead, he ignored
Sue, running right past her to Kris.  Standing right in front of
her he beamed his brilliant smile and said, "Beautiful lady! 
Beautiful lady hold Ronnie?"

Kris had heard about April and Ron's little boy, but this was the
first time she had ever seen him.  She put her arms around him
and lifted him up in her arms.  He wrapped his little arms
tightly around her neck and then gave her a wonderful soft kiss.
She kissed him and returned his hugs.

Only then, while still in Kris's arms, did he acknowledge Sue. 
He beamed at her and said, "Hi, Aunt Sue!"  But he didn't let go
of Kris.

Ron had been standing close watching his son.  He shook his head
and said, "Mrs. Collins, I'm Ron Jackson, Ronnie's father.  We've
never met before, but I've heard so much about you from April. 
What you have just seen is the ultimate compliment.  Mother
Jefferson claims that Ronnie's judgment of people is infallible.
All I know is I've never heard of him being wrong.  My
sister-in-law, Sue, is Ronnie's favorite person.  I think she may
even come ahead of his mother.  Frankly, we've been too afraid of
the answer to really find out.

"But you saw what just happened: His Aunt Sue had her arms
outstretched, for Heaven's sake, and he goes right by her to get
to Kris.  Mrs. Collins, Kris Crowley is a truly wonderful person.
 You're a very lucky woman to have her.  It seems you also have
her love which, I'm pretty sure, is so strong it could move
mountains."

Later, after many of the guests had left, Maureen was presented
with her slave collar.  At the same time, Jan presented one to
Vangie.  The only difference was the engraved initials were J S
rather than C S.  Janice explained that, after all, she was
Janice's slave, not Cindy's.

Finally, Cathy and Ken sat on the floor in front of their parents
and Cathy asked how they liked their shower gift.  Vangie could
only shake her head and say, "Kids, there is no more perfect gift
possible.  This young woman is an utter dream!  I love her
desperately already."  With that she melted her lips to
Kristin's, tasting again her sweetness, warmth, and overwhelming
love.

By late in the afternoon all of the guests had left and
everything had been cleaned up and put away.  Cathy and Ken were
staying with the Stewarts -- they hadn't yet had a chance to do
anything about finding a place to live -- and Ed and Kris were,
too.  They had a small cook-out in the evening and then Jan and
Pete excused themselves to do some shopping for the baby.

As promised, the temperature had reached the eighties and it was
still warm that evening.  When the Stewarts left, Vangie was
looking longingly at the pool.  Then with a grin and a whoop, she
shed her clothes, ran to the pool side and dove in.  In no time
there was a scramble as the rest shed their clothes, too.  Since
Kris was still only wearing her christening dress, she only had
to let it fall so she was the second one in.  In moments they
were all enjoying the water.  Then Vangie picked a lane and began
to stroke down the pool.  Ed joined her in the adjacent wall lane
and moments later all five Bradleys were swimming laps.

As they moved through the water Vangie steadily picked up the
pace.  Soon they were churning back and forth at full speed.  Ed
was the first to quit, pulling himself from the pool and dangling
his legs watching.  After a few more laps Ken joined him and they
sat side by side watching the women, all of whom moved like
trapped porpoises in the water -- just as fast and as smoothly. 
Finally, Cathy stopped and joined the men leaving just Vangie and
Kris.  Cathy was amazed at her mother's smoothness and power. 
She never knew Evangeline could swim at all.

Now that it was down to just the two of them, Kris said, "Race
you four lengths?"

Vangie agreed and they pulled themselves out of the pool at the
end with the starting boxes.  Ken gave the starting commands and
what followed amazed the onlookers.  Both went off the blocks in
perfect racing dives.  As fast as they had been swimming, it was
nothing compared to what they were doing now.  The water was
roiled with their wakes as they moved up and back in the pool. 
After her second turn, with fifty meters left to go, it was as if
Kris shifted to another, higher gear.  She just pulled away,
seeming to gain half a body length with every stroke.  When she
touched, she had beaten Vangie by nearly half a pool length.  She
was sitting at the end of her mother's lane to give her a hand
out.  When she was standing on the pool deck, Vangie put her
hands on her knees to catch her breath.  Then she straightened up
and asked, "How did you do that, young lady?  I thought I was
pretty fast."

"I cheated," Kris replied with a straight face.

"And how, exactly, did you cheat?" Vangie persisted.

"I don't have to drag all the hair that you do through the water,
Mrs. Collins.  I have a crew cut and even though I have pubic
hair and you don't, it's crew cut, too.  Furthermore, my body was
made by the Bradleys and you know what great athletes your
daughter and son-in-law are.  Remember, all I brought to the
party was skin and bones.  Cathy and Ken provided the muscles,
and it was the muscles that beat you, Mrs. Collins."

"Kristin Collins Bradley, it's Mom or Mother or...  It is _not_
Mrs. Collins!  Ever!"  She pretended to glare at Kris and added,
"There's a well-worn paddle upstairs, young lady.  I know it's
well worn because it was applied to my ass so many times.  It's
waiting for the next time you _dare_ call me Mrs. Collins!"  Then
she took the girl in her arms and held her tightly.  She
whispered, "God, I love you, Kristin Bradley!"

"Oh, God, I love you so much, too... Mom?"  Kris put her arm
around her mother's slim waist and they joined the others.

Ken looked up and whistled.  "Mom," he said, "that whistle was
something I wanted to do ever since you took off your clothes
today.  You are unbelievable!  I can see you as Cathy's older
sister, but as her mother?  No way!"

Vangie grinned and winked, then said, "Look, sexist, as long as
you're admiring the merchandise, let's see what you men look like
side by side."  With a sheepish grin Ed stood next to his son. 
Now Vangie and Cathy both whistled.

Then acting like women at a slave auction they walked slowly
around the two men handling their muscles as if they were beef. 
Vangie even ordered Ed to flex his biceps so she could feel it. 
They continued feeling the powerful muscles in their men's thighs
and even fondling their tight asses, all the while keeping up a
running debate on the relative merits of father and son.  Then
they knelt in front of their two men and gently weighed their
balls, talking to each other about the relative merits of the
men's physical equipment.  The stimulation provided by the
women's handling their sex was all the men needed.  From
semi-erect they were both almost instantly fully erect.

Vangie salaciously licked her lips and looked from one man to the
other.  She said softly, "Cath, aren't you afraid Ken will tear
you apart?  He's gigantic!  Exactly like his father."

"I was, Mom," Cathy replied softly.  "I really was.  But I wanted
him so damned much, I didn't care if he did split me in half.  On
our wedding night Ken broke my maidenhead and blood poured down.
He made me cum to the point of losing consciousness, and when it
was over and I was unconscious, he changed the bed and licked out
my cunt.  He commented that my blood mixed with out juices
provided just the right amount of salt.  Mom, that's been
bothering me.  I've been trying to figure out what I can do to
add some blood to the mixture regularly."  Then she looked at the
mother and asked, "But what about you?  You're built like me and
you haven't had any cuntal exercise for a long time."

"I'll manage," Vangie replied.  Then she looked up and saw Kris
kneeling beside her.  "My God, young lady!  What are you doing?"

"Admiring the scenery, Mom," she said blithely.  "Oh, God, Mom! 
You're so lucky.  I'm sure Mr. Bradley will keep you...
entertained... when you're married."

Dropping to his knees beside her, Ed Bradley said, "Young lady, I
overheard your mother telling you about a paddle awhile ago. 
I've been thinking:  You see, you and your sister told your
mother so accurately what a mother misses when her daughter grows
up and marries.  Did you ever think about a father?

"Kristin Crowley Bradley, even though it's Saturday, this
afternoon I called my lawyers.  There's a whole damned firm of
the idiots who mostly do nothing but soak up my money.  Anyway, I
told them that you were going to be officially my daughter before
Friday or I get a new law firm.  You hugged your mother when she
was nude.  I could see her mashing her beautiful tits against
your chest.  Darling, I love you terribly, too.  Could you have a
little love to spare for me, too?"

Kris let out a squeal of happiness and launched herself into his
arms.  Ignoring her nakedness, she tried to crush her immature
breasts against him.  As she did, he wrapped his arms around her
and squeezed her tightly.  Then the others smiled warmly as they
heard wonderful happy noises from deep in Kris's body as she
melted her father with a kiss.  When he relaxed his grip, Ed was
surprised to see his new daughter sensuously moving her tits
against the hair on his chest and was surprised to see her small
nipples instantly become erect.

Turning to Cathy she said, "You were so right!  It feels so
wonderful.  Even my little tits can feel Dad's glorious chest
hair."  Then she turned to Vangie and said, "Mom, are you ever
going to have fun!  Want to try?"

Vangie shook her head in amusement, rose to her feet and spanked
Kris's firm bottom saying, "Kristin Bradley, I'm surprised at
you!  My God, that's incest!"  Having said it she moved her
daughter away and stepped into Ed's widespread arms.  He melted
her with his kiss and then she gently moved her nipples against
his chest.  Moaning with pleasure she whispered, "Darling, feel,"
as she moved his hand to her crotch.  He kissed her again softly
as he felt her vaginal fluids dripping from her cunt.  When he
released her, she looked up at him and grinned, "Darling, I can't
wait!"

Then with a grin he held his hand up to her mouth and said, "I
think this is yours."  With the cutest grin he had ever seen on
her face, she very daintily extended her tongue and carefully
licked her juices off his hand.

"Happy now?" she asked with a grin.  Then she licked her lips,
cocked her head, and then nodded sharply.  "I think it's
luscious!  Even if I do say so myself."  At that he again put his
finger in her cunt and then licked it off as if he were licking
icing off a spoon.  He grinned back and agreed it was good.

The five were just sitting on the pool deck and looking at one
another.  Vangie was using Ed's stomach as a head-rest while he
was gently toying with her tit.  "Darling," he whispered, "you're
simply magnificent.  I hope you know that?"

She just wriggled against him and murmured softly.  "I hope you
realize what a strange family this is going to be, Ed," she said.
 I'll be Ken's stepmother and his mother-in-law, as you'll be
Cathy's stepfather and father-in-law."  Twisting her head she
looked up at his face and asked, "May I adopt Ken as my son,
darling?  I really want to."

"If I can adopt Cathy as my daughter," he replied.  "What about
Kris?"

She chuckled and replied, "Honey, you've heard about his, hers,
and ours?  She's ours!"  Then she started to laugh and then said,
"Darling, being married to you is going to be fun!  But what do
you think of our sexually active virgin daughter?  Where virgins
are concerned, we're down to only one."

Ed's eyes widened in apparent shock and disbelief.  He said,
"Vangie!  Are you trying to tell me that you're not...?  That you
have actually...?  With a _man?"_

Moving as quickly and smoothly as a cat, Vangie lay on his body
with her hands folded on his chest.  She looked very solemn as
she said, "Darling, I cannot tell a lie.  I did.  Once.  With a
man.  Then Cathy appeared."  Then she chuckled and moved up so
that her lips were over his.  Slowly she lowered her head until
her lips barely made contact with his.  Then her tongue darted
out into his mouth while his drove into hers.  They both felt the
flow of electricity between them while Ed lightly ran his fingers
over her body causing her to moan again in pleasure.

Just then their romantic moment was shattered by Kris exclaiming,
"My God, Cath!  Look at our parents!  They're _necking!"_  With
that Kris came over, and knelt down and kissed them both saying
softly, "You sure are, Mom and Dad, and it's absolutely
beautiful!  Now would you please stop it before you make me any
wetter?  I'm the only poor unfortunate in this family who can't
do anything about it!"  They all laughed and then went back into
the house.

Vangie made a late snack for them while they all sat around the
kitchen table still nude.  Under the bright lights of the
kitchen, Kris looked around and just shook her head.  Finally she
said, "I have to be a part of the most handsome family in the
world!  Mom and Dad, you two are perfection!  We won't even talk
about Cathy and Ken.  Why do we ever have to wear clothes?"

Suddenly the girl's face fell and she said, "Oh, my gosh!"  Then
she wailed, "Mother!  I have nothing to wear!  What will I do? 
Ken and Kathy bought me a few things in Hawaii but mostly we
didn't wear any clothes.  I have no idea what happened to the
clothes I had before the accident but it doesn't matter.  They
wouldn't fit me now, anyway.  What am I going to do?"  Then she
started to cry with hopeless-sounding sobs.  Through her tears
she said, "Oh, God!  This is exactly what I didn't want to have
happen!  I didn't want to cost you any money.  What will we do?"

Then she looked at Ed and said, "Dad, this is going to sound very
strange, but what do you do for a living?  I mean...  I know Ken
makes a lot of money playing professional football and Cathy is
very well-paid as a bank officer.  But what do you do?"

Now as her sobbing intensified Vangie took her into her arms to
just hold her tight.  As she did she realized again what a
beautiful girl she was holding in her arms.  With her face
tear-streaked, she lifted her head and asked, "Dad, I never
thought to ask.  Can... Can you afford me?  I... I still really
do eat a lot.  Of course I can cut down now."  Then she
brightened and said, "Monday, I'll call Mrs. Clifford and ask her
about those acting jobs.  That will help."  Again her face fell
as she added, "But what will we live on in the meantime?"

Ed went to her and effortlessly lifted her out of the chair and
held her in his arms.  Then he sat down, put her across his lap
and hugged her tightly.  Kris tried to burrow into her father's
shoulder.  She loved his masculine smell as she did.  The others
had been watching the poor tormented girl but knowing Ed
Bradley's financial condition it was all they could do to
maintain straight faces.

Gently he lifted her chin so she was looking at his face and
asked, "Pumpkin, what do you think of Ken?  Does he seem spoiled
to you?"  Kris quickly shook her head.  "How about Cathy?"

Kris was puzzled as she looked at him and slowly shook her head.
"Spoiled?  My God, no!  They are the two most thoughtful, kind
and considerate people on the face of the earth!  Can you imagine
inviting a little emaciated twerp to stay with you on your
honeymoon?  They did."  She was sitting up straight on his lap
and said very firmly, "Absolutely not!  No, they are certainly
not spoiled."

Ed nodded and said, "I agree with you, Kris, and so does your
brand-new mother.  However, they could have been.  You see,
honey..."  Ed stopped and thought for a few moments, then began
again.  "Have you ever heard of the _Forbes 400?_  It's a list of
the richest people in the country.  Have you?"  Kris just shook
her head.  She had never heard of _Forbes,_ let alone its list. 
"You see, sweetheart, I'm about number five on the list and your
mother is number ten or eleven or something."  Turning to Vangie
he interjected, "That reminds me.  I have a little something to
return to you."

Turning his attention back to Kris he said, "Honey, the funniest
thing is the way Cathy and Ken got together.  You see, they were
both fleeing from parental pressure.  We wanted them to meet to
merge the families... and they fled into each other's arms. 
Anyway, honey, the short answer is that we're rich.  I guess you
could even say we're stinking rich!"

Turning to Vangie again he said, "Vangie, how would you like to
take your brand-new daughter to New York tomorrow for a little
shopping?  Didn't that use to be your favorite indoor sport?"

Instead of replying, Vangie just picked up the phone and reserved
three first-class seats on a flight to New York the next day. 
Then she grinned at Ed and said, "I think it's a neat idea!" 
Then the expression on her face changed and she said, "In fact, I
think I'll even have a reception for some of my East Side
friends.  It should be funny.  Turning to Cathy she asked, "How
about you, Cath?  Do you and Ken want to come?  I'm sure they
have some open seats on a Sunday morning flight."

Cathy shook her head and said, "Mother, Ken has been on the
bank's payroll since January and has never set foot in the place.
 It's almost mid-May and I haven't been near the office since
January, either.  Are you kidding?"  Then with an exaggerated
sigh she added, "Unlike some people I know, there are some of us
who have to _work_ for a living!"  She stuck out her tongue and
grinned, then giggled when her mother daintily stuck hers out,
too.

They went upstairs to bed.  Vangie had just gotten under the
covers and turned out the lights when her door opened silently. 
Feeling the covers lifted, she could then feel weight on the side
of the bed as someone got in beside her.  The next thing she
knew, Kris had her arms around her and Vangie could feel the
girl's tears on her own cheek.  "What's wrong, honey?" she asked
with her concern showing in her voice.

"I love you so very much, Mommy!" the girl exclaimed with quiet
intensity.  "Do you mind if I sleep with you and... and hug you?
Maybe... maybe you could even hug me back?"

"Oh, my darling daughter!" Vangie exclaimed.  Holding the girl
close against her she again felt the wonderful lines of her body
and her perfect skin.  In the warm confines of the bed she could
also smell the fresh fragrance of Kris's perfect body.  They both
fell asleep stroking each other.*Chapter 59*

Early the next morning Vangie awakened and found that she was
still being held in Kris's arms so she gently stroked the girl's
beautiful body.  Feeling her mother's caresses Kris wriggled even
closer to Vangie and made happy sounds in her sleep as she mashed
her immature breasts against her mother's full ones.  Vangie gave
her a kiss and slid out of bed leaving her still asleep with a
lovely little smile on her face.  After taking a quick shower,
she raced downstairs and found Jan already up and the coffee had
been made.

As she entered the kitchen Jan stuck out her tongue and said,
"Woe is me!  After a full year of having slaves waiting on me
hand and foot, I have to go back to work... and will soon have to
care for a baby, too!"  Vangie headed for the range but was told
in no uncertain terms that she was a guest in the house and was
going to be treated like one for a change.

While they ate the magnificent omelettes Jan prepared, Vangie
told her about Kris, her need for clothes, and the planned trip
to New York.  Finally she told her about her planned party at her
apartment.  Jan, being a former New Yorker, clapped her hands in
glee and asked if she and Peter could come out for it.  Vangie
was utterly delighted at her interest and set Tuesday evening as
the date.  Then she took advantage of the one-hour time
difference to begin making her arrangements even though it was
early on a Sunday morning.

When Jan asked her about phoning caterers so early on a Sunday,
Vangie replied in her haughtiest voice, "My dear girl!  Really! 
_Tradesmen_ deal with Evangeline Pierce Collins when Mrs. Collins
chooses to deal with them."  Then she winked and giggled.

That afternoon Ed, Kris and Vangie flew to New York.  Even though
she had a fully-staffed apartment, Vangie had reserved a suite
for Kris and herself at the Grand Hotel Hyatt.  She gave Ed a
passionate kiss as his chauffeur dropped them off at the hotel.

Winking at Kris she said, "Darling, you're about to get an
education in how the game of being rich is played.  You might
even find that it's fun."  They were ushered up to the Regency
floor and shown to their suite.  "Come, dear, I'll show you
around," she said, as they went to the Regency lounge.  The
service in the lounge was up to its usual impeccable standards. 
Vangie ordered a very dry martini for herself and a Perrier with
a lime for Kris.

When her drink came, Kris took a sip.  "Mom, is this a part of
being rich?" she asked, making a face.  "Is Coke too...
plebeian?"

Vangie just winked and then giggled.  "My dear girl!" she
exclaimed in her haughtiest tone, "one does have certain
responsibilities, after all.  Occasionally one must even make
certain sacrifices."  Then in her normal tone she continued,
"Shit, I much prefer Coke, too."

Then she took Kris's hand squeezed it, and winked.  Before Kris
could respond Vangie's eyes softened and she said, "Kris, are you
sure you can put up with me?  I think you're the most wonderful
girl in the world but I can't understand how I could get so
lucky."  Looking into Kris's incredible purple eyes she added, "I
think we do see many things the same way, though.  I hope it's
fun for you, my darling.  I know it's utterly marvelous for me."

With her face expressionless, Kris had just been looking at
Vangie's face.  When Vangie finished, she took one of her hands,
squeezed it tightly and gave her the most loving smile she had
ever seen.  "Mom," she said softly, "last night was utter heaven!
 I've been sleeping with Cathy and Ken and it was a lot of fun."
With a blush she added, "I've even been helping with their
lovemaking.  It was wonderful to see their incredible love for
each other... it just fills the whole room.

"But last night was different.  You were expressing your real
love _for me!_  I can't tell you what that meant.  I had the
sweetest dreams as I felt this wondrously firm yet soft body
mashing itself against mine."  She smiled and shook her head
saying, "Mom, I can't believe your body.  I can understand
Cathy's but she's only twenty-two.  You're her mother but you
look like her older sister.  Mom, even naked and close up you
have the body of twenty-five-year old.  It's so much like Cathy's
but yours is fully ripe.  It's like a pear: so soft and firm,
juicy and delicious!  I want to eat you up!"

"Thank you, dear," Vangie said dryly.  "You can't know what
wonderful things you just did for my ego by comparing be to an
overripe inanimate object!"  Then she winked, grinned, and hugged
the girl tightly.  After just chatting for a while longer --
Vangie continued to be impressed with the breadth and depth of
her new daughter's knowledge -- they had another drink.

"Honey," Vangie interjected, "I want you to know something that
Cathy told me last night.  She said that you're a banquet of
delights.  'Kris is something else,' she said.  'There is
absolutely _nothing_ you might care to talk about that Kris can't
converse on... and in depth.  On the other hand, you'll probably
have to force it out of her.  Kris never makes the first move. 
She just adapts to what others are doing or talking about.' 
She's right, honey.  You're a truly amazing young woman. 
Incidentally, did Henry Hall do your hair?"  Kris acknowledged
that he did.  "I thought so.  It has his hallmark.  You look like
a princess, you're so regal.  The hairdo sets off your refinement
and femininity, in spite of being similar to a boy's.  The effect
and the way he achieved it is really quite remarkable."

They went back to their suite, but this time Kris made no
pretense of sleeping in her own bed.  She undressed and was in
bed when Vangie came out of the bathroom and was holding the
covers back for her mother to dive in.  As soon as she did Kris
just wriggled as close to her as she could get, gave her and
intensely loving kiss, and immediately went to sleep.  Vangie
just softly caressed the back of the girl's head where her short
hair met her slim neck.

The next day was great fun for both women.  Vangie called her
apartment and asked for her chauffeur to pick them up at the
hotel.  From there they went to a series of stores and shops
where she was greeted with consternation by the store sales
people, some of whom had been waiting on her for years.  In each
shop they exclaimed over her appearance but didn't quite know
what to make of it.  While she was in the stores shopping for
Kris, Vangie decided to work on her own wardrobe, too.

The salespeople were astonished at her behavior.  Where formerly
everything Evangeline Collins bought was in the height of fashion
-- regardless of where fashion might have been going at the time
or what was being done in its name -- now she had very specific
things she wanted regardless of whether they were in or not. 
Furthermore, they couldn't understand her appearance.  Where
formerly they knew she was averse to the sun and, in fact,
cultivated a very pale look, now she was golden.  Her figure,
fully revealed when she stripped in the fitting rooms, was
utterly magnificent.  Moreover, she moved like a ballet dancer or
an athlete.  Because of her beauty and the flowing curves of her
body, they couldn't be sure, but their feeling was that they were
seeing satin-smooth skin over nothing but well-toned muscles.

And her daughter!  They fell all over themselves to find
appropriate attire for this princess.  In one store the two women
were in the special fitting room used only for the store's most
important customers.  A saleswoman just shook her head in
amazement when both women were stripped to their bikinis and
seemed totally unconcerned -- and even unaware -- of their
nudity.  Their figures were both golden and their carriage was
regal.  They couldn't understand what appeared to be gentle
teasing between mother and daughter.  People so rich just didn't
behave this way.  One of the women privately shook her head in
amusement.  She realized something that her colleagues did not:
They were seeing constant expressions of intense love between the
two women.

That evening they had a quiet dinner at a fine French restaurant.
 Vangie absolutely adored her new daughter.  She learned that
night that she even spoke fluent French which she used to discuss
the menu with the owner, an immigrant Frenchman.  He positively
beamed as he withdrew to the kitchen to inform the chef about
their very special guests and their gastronomic requirements. 
When she questioned her about it later, Kristin just shrugged and
passed it off.  Again that night they slept together and Vangie
decided that the girl was a wonderful bed companion -- not as
good as a man, but almost.

The next day they were meeting Ed Bradley for lunch at his
office.  They finished their shopping in the morning and reached
his office building at twelve-thirty.  When they reached the
thirty-eighth floor of the midtown building, they saw a beautiful
doorway with conservative solid-brass lettering that said merely,
Edgar W. Bradley and below in much smaller letters the word,
Investments.  They entered the office and Kris whistled softly at
the sumptuous surroundings.

Then they checked in with the receptionist and Ed's secretary
came out to show them to his office.  Ed had a suite of private
offices on the northwest corner of the building.  His secretary
was a very attractive woman, five feet five in height with dark
brown hair and brown eyes, who appeared to be in her late
thirties.  She looked at Vangie speculatively as she asked them
to make themselves comfortable in his private office because Mr.
Bradley had been delayed at a meeting.

A few minutes later Ed joined them and kissed Vangie
passionately.  The first thing he did was to ask his secretary to
come in and join them.  He confirmed plans for the party at
Vangie's that night at six, and then addressed his secretary. 
"Jane, Vangie and I are being married on Saturday.  We'll be
relocating our offices to Chicago," he said.  Then to Vangie he
added, "Honey, you need to know that Jane was my mistress until
about five years ago."  He was looking very embarrassed as he
said it and Jane Edwards blushed beet-red at his disclosure.  She
looked like she wanted to die.

"Ed!" Jane exclaimed, "what a terrible thing to say in front of
your young daughter!  I'm amazed that you would ever do such a
thing."

"Jane, Kristin is one of the most amazing young people you'll
ever meet in your life.  Although she's only fourteen years old,
she has greater maturity and judgment than mostforty-year-olds."

Then to Vangie he said, "Look, I set this up for you to meet and
talk with Jane.  I made reservations for three in a private
dining room in the club upstairs.  Jane made them, of course, but
she didn't know she was making them for the three of you, not me.
 I want you to get acquainted, because I think you'll like one
another."  With that he kissed Vangie again and hastily left the
room.

"Ouch!" Jane said softly.  "Please forgive me, Mrs. Collins.  I
had no idea..."

"I know you didn't," Vangie replied softly.  "Do you care to talk
about it?  You're a beautiful woman, Miss Edwards.  I suspect Ed
wanted us to compare notes, probably on lovemaking.  How long
were you his mistress?"

"About three years," she replied.

"Why did you break up with Ed?" Vangie asked softly.

"Because our relationship was going nowhere.  I loved Ed very
much and I think I was pretty good with him, but he wasn't going
to leave his wife and I wasn't going to ask him to."  The young
woman looked tortured and then said, "I couldn't take it anymore.
 When we were together in bed, I was in Heaven, but then when he
went home to his wife I felt like such an unmitigated shit!  I...
I even tried to tell his wife..."

"Tell her what?" Vangie asked softly.

"To be better with him.  To love him.  To let him love her. 
But... But she wouldn't.  I guess she gave birth to Ken and felt
that was sufficient as her contribution to the marriage.  She
couldn't seem to understand what a virile man she was married to.
 Making love to Ed isn't a once-a-month project."  The woman's
head dropped and then she looked up and said, "I'm going to say
something that could get me fired..."

"Wrong, Jane," Vangie interjected with fire in her eyes. 
"Nothing you could say to me or Kris now, or at any time in the
future, could possibly get you fired!  Now, what were you going
to say?"

"Could... Would... Could you undress, Mrs. Collins?" she asked
and again blushed crimson.

Vangie just grinned, winked, and in no time was standing nude in
front of the woman.  Jane had looked down at the carpet after she
made her request and only looked up when Vangie stood in front of
her.  She looked up, then arose from her chair and walked around
Vangie slowly.  Almost against her will she reached out and
touched Vangie's skin with her fingertips.

"Jane, if you want to know what I feel like, just run your
fingers over my body.  I certainly don't mind.  In fact, your
touch is exquisitely gentle.  It feels great!"  The woman was
startled but did as Vangie suggested.  Standing in front of her,
she screwed up her courage and cupped Vangie's breasts.  "Do you
approve, Jane?" Vangie asked softly.  "More importantly, do you
think Ed will?  He has been with me when we've both been nude and
he's handled my body, but we have never slept together.  Do you
think I can make him happy in bed?"

Jane was startled by the question.  Her head jerked up, but then
she smiled and said, "You certainly have all the equipment, Mrs.
Collins.  The only question is, are you willing to use it?"

"Jane, two things: First, the name is Vangie, for Christ's sake,
not 'Mrs. Collins.' Don't you feel a little dumb calling a naked
woman, missus?  Second, Ed is welcome to any part of me, any way
he would like, at any time he would like.  I have one ambition in
life: to make him happy."

Then she told about her experience with Jan and Pete and the way
he had her cuming for minutes on end.  Finally she said, "Jane, I
was thinking seriously of helping Ed find a mistress before that.
 I thought he was very virile and would need sex.  Of course, I
was more than willing to let him do anything he wanted with me or
to me, but I didn't think that would be enough.  I didn't think
he could be happy in bed with a piece of dead meat.  Anyway, now
I'm reasonably confident that I can be good with him sexually. 
Did I answer your question?"

Jane just nodded and Vangie quickly put her clothes on again. 
Jane led the way to the luncheon club where they were shown to a
private dining room.  It was an oak-paneled room with a sofa,
lamp tables, a coffee table and two side chairs in addition to
the dining table.

When they were seated, Jane looked at Vangie and slowly shook her
head and blushed.  "Mrs. Collins... I'm sorry... Vangie... I
really think you'll be better for Ed than I was or could ever
possibly be.  I heard what you said in the office and I believe
you.  You'll do absolutely anything you think that Ed might
want."  She looked at Vangie and smiled warmly and said, "I
thought I was very good for Ed, but I wasn't nearly as good as
you're going to be.  You see, Ed enjoys sex.  He really does!  So
there were a number of things that he wanted to try that I
wouldn't go along with."

The woman looked sheepish as she continued, "I can remember one:
taking me in the ass.  Ed wanted to try it, but I would never
allow it.  The odd thing is that the idea was sort of appealing
to me in a strange sort of way... in fact, I always used to get
wet just thinking about it when he brought the subject up.  But
it wasn't nice or something.  Anyway, we never did it."

Now she was intent on her memories.  "I guess all I really wanted
to do was lie on my back and spread my legs.  Of course, I loved
having him in me and my obvious pleasure gave him enjoyment.  I
would cum freely with him inside me, and he really liked that. 
He claims to like a wet woman."  She blushed and said, "It's
funny, though.  Now I find myself doing things with my husband,
Jim, that I wouldn't ever do with Ed.  Jim's getting more
creative and I guess I am, too."

Tears came to her eyes as she continued, "The sorrow of my life
is we haven't had children.  Now the doctors don't think that I
can ever have any.  I think of it as God's punishment for coming
between a man and his wife.  It was a terrible thing for me to
do."  The woman jumped from her seat and headed for the door
crying uncontrollably, but Vangie headed her off.  She took her
in her arms, held her close, and just let her cry on her
shoulder.  She took her over to the sofa and sat down beside her
to let the woman cry herself out.  Finally her shoulders stopped
shaking and the tears slowed and finally stopped.

Jane groped around and Kris put a tissue in her hand that she
used to blow her nose.  Now she was looking very embarrassed as
Kris produced a paper towel that she had soaked in cold water
which she gave to Vangie.  Her mother  accepted it with a smile
and used it to wash off Jane's face.  It was followed by a dry
towel.  Jane looked up at Kris and asked, "Where did all of those
things come from?"

"What things?" Kris asked innocently.

"Tissues, a towel soaked in cold water, more dry towels..."  Jane
replied looking at Kris intently.  Then she began to smile in
spite of her tear-ravaged face.

"I thought you might need them," Kris replied, "and Mom seemed to
have things under control in here.  Now, Mrs. Edwards, would you
like to go to the ladies room and make... er... more permanent
repairs?"  Jane grinned and retreated from the room.

When she had left, Vangie looked at Kris and said, "Daughter,
you're too much!"  Kris pretended to look both puzzled and hurt
while her mother laughed.  "Don't try to pull that innocent shit
on me, young lady!  I know you too well already.  The instant I
took Jane in my arms you were thinking ahead to making more
permanent repairs while trying to avoid embarrassing her any
further.  Right?"  Kris just nodded her head once, very quickly.

Vangie got to her feet and hugged her tightly.  "I love you very
much, Kristin Crowley Bradley!  I can't wait for it to be
official."

Then she moved back a step while still holding Kris's hands.  She
looked at the girl and just shook her head saying, "Cathy's
absolutely right, isn't she?  You have a degree of wisdom far
beyond your years.  Even though you're only fourteen, you don't
behave like a teenager.  There is one exception, though, that I
utterly adore.  You snuggle like a child when we're in bed.  It
feels utterly fabulous," she said.  Then with a suspicious look
on her face she added, "Or is that an act, too, to make an old
woman feel good?"

Kris pulled Vangie close and hugged her tightly.  "No, Mom,
that's certainly not an act.  It's exactly how I feel.  Mom, I
can't tell you how wonderful it feels to have a warm feminine
body so close to mine... to smell your natural fragrance, to
taste the sweetness of your lips!  Mom, I utterly adore you and I
sure hope it shows!" she exclaimed.  Vangie kissed her softly
full on her lips just as Jane returned.

The three sat down when the waitress brought in their lunches. 
After they started to eat, Kris said, "Mrs. Edwards, my mother
has been giving you a workout.  Is it my turn yet?"

"What do you mean, Kris?" Jane asked.  "Incidentally, I meant to
congratulate your new father on his miraculous fortune.  You're
the most beautiful young woman I have ever laid eyes on."

Looking conspiratorial, Kris leaned towards Jane and said, "Look,
Mrs. Edwards, I'm going to need help.  My mother shows signs of
being a real tough nut about some things.  Now I'm just planning
ahead.  You see, one advantage a girl has is in dealing with her
father.  I guess we use them to practice on for more serious use
on our men later.  Anyway, I expect to be calling you from time
to time.  I'll want to take Dad's temperature so I'll know
whether or when to get around mother by going direct to him."

She smiled warmly and added, "Of course for this to work it
requires two things: The first is a secretary who really knows
her boss well.  That's certainly true of you.  The second is to
enlist the secretary as a friend who'll go to bat for you. 
That's really why I'm trying to be nice.  Mrs. Edwards, will you
be my friend?"  She grinned and asked, "How am I doing so far?"

Jane grinned at Vangie and just shook her head.  Turning back to
Kris she replied, "Very well, obviously.  But you're putting me
on a real spot.  I love your mother a great deal already, and
you're asking me to get between her and your father?"

"It shouldn't be at all difficult for a top-flight executive
secretary," Kris replied airily, "and clearly you are one."

"I would be in a state of panic right now, Kristin Bradley, if I
didn't think I already know you better than that.  I can't see
you ever trying to get around your mother.  What I _can_ see is
you calling to find out what to buy your dad for Christmas, or
what might be a good anniversary gift, or some suggestions for
Mother's Day.  Calling me to get by your mother?  Absolutely no
way!  First, I find it hard to think of any subject of
consequence on which you and your mother would disagree.  Second,
if you did, I'll wager one thousand dollars to one dime that you
would do it her way if you couldn't persuade her that yours was
the better way.  Right?"

After looking at Jane for a moment Kris, using her wonderful
acting ability, caused her face to crumple and her tears to flow.
 "Mother!" she wailed, "am I a piece of glass?  Why can people
always see right through me?"  As quickly as her tears started,
Kris stopped them and instantly her appearance was back to
normal.  Then she asked, "Are you really good on gift ideas?  I
sure hope so, 'cause I'm _awful!"_  Then she daintily stuck out
her tongue and added, "Mrs. Edwards, you're mean!"

When she concluded, Vangie and Jane very quietly applauded. 
Vangie said to Jane, "She really is a pretty good actress, don't
you think?"  Jane smiled warmly and agreed, then leaned over,
kissed Kris warmly and said she already loved her.

After lunch, Vangie and Kris went to Vangie's apartment.  When
they entered, Vangie's reaction was immediate: "Yuck!  Whatever
could I have been thinking about when I did this?"  Turning to
Kris she said, "Well, this place is history and good riddance. 
What do you think?"

"The same thing you think, Mom," Kris replied with a grin. 
"Yuck!  But Mom, is that really a well-accepted decorator's
term?"  Just then the butler came out to announce that there was
a visitor for Mrs. Collins waiting for her in the library. 
Vangie was puzzled because she wasn't expecting anyone and Jan
and Pete weren't due to arrive for hours.  They found Henry Hall
reading a magazine, waiting for their return.  He jumped to his
feet when they came in and hugged them both.

"To what do I owe this wonderful surprise, Henry?" Vangie asked.
"As if I didn't know.  Let me guess...  Her initials aren't
Allison McGrath Clifford, are they?"

Henry just grinned and nodded.  Then he looked at Kris, shook his
head and murmured, "Hall, you outdid yourself!  This is the best
work you have ever done."  Then he grinned at Vangie and said,
"Of course the fact that she's the most gorgeous girl on the face
of the earth has absolutely nothing to do with it.  It's all me."
 Then he asked, "What do you think of your new daughter, Vangie?
And do you like her hairdo?"

Vangie just shook her head and smiled wryly.  "You're just
fishing for compliments, Henry Hall!" she replied.  "But the
answers to your questions are that I adore the girl, and her
hairdo is absolutely stunning."  She looked at him and added, "It
wouldn't work on many girls, would it?"

He just shook his head and replied, "On most girls her age it
would make her look like a boy.  There is _nothing_ that can make
this girl look like anything but a beautiful girl... and that
would be true if I shaved all her hair off!"  He looked at Kris
thoughtfully and added, "You know, someday soon I may try a real
crew cut..."

"Henry Hall, you stay away from me!" Kris exclaimed in mock
terror.  Then she looked thoughtful and added, "A real crew cut?
I wonder..."

He shook his head and said, "Vangie, that's another reason I
adore working on this girl.  She's an enigma.  I can't make up my
mind if she's a princess or a hoyden.  Maybe that's why I love
her so much.  Anyway, the reason I'm here is that Ali told me you
have a big coming-out party for Kris tonight.  While I love
Kris's hair, it does have one aspect of a boy's haircut: It needs
to be trimmed often.  It hasn't been very long since I did it, of
course, but I also wanted to see how it was doing.  From what I
see, it's spectacular.  But it's your head, Kris.  How do you
like it?"

"I absolutely adore it, Mr. Hall," she replied.  Then with a very
warm smile she asked, "Do you know what I particularly love?" 
Her face wore a guilty smile as she answered her own question,
"The last few nights I slept in bed with Mom.  I pretended to be
asleep while she was caressing the back of my neck right at the
hairline!  It felt so loving and wonderful!  Thank you so much,
Mr. Hall.  I really do love it!"

Vangie led them to another bedroom which she said he could use as
his hairdressing studio.  She told him that the apartment was
being given up after the party, so it didn't matter what might
happen to it.  "In fact," she said, "I think it would be kind of
neat to leave a pile of hair for the new people.  Trying to
figure out what happened will absolutely drive them crazy!"

Henry just grinned and sat Kris in a chair, wrapped a sheet
around her and went to work.  All her hair needed was the
slightest trim and a little training to get it to lay the way he
wanted it to.  When he finished, he said, "I really like it,
Kris, and I'm very happy you do, too."  He told her that it was
the kind of hairdo that drove other hairdressers crazy.  "It
looks so spectacular on a very rare woman like you, that a whole
bunch of their customers come in demanding to be done in exactly
the same way.  The problem is the women would be walking
disasters if their hairdressers ever gave in."

"And you just delight in causing trouble, don't you, Mr. Hall?"
Kris responded with a grin.  Then her grin widened as she asked,
"Does that make me an accessory to the crime, or something?"  He
just laughed and went to find Vangie.

When she came in, she cultivated a bored look as she slowly
walked around Kris, looking at her from all angles.  Finally, she
nodded perfunctorily and said it was okay.  Henry looked hurt
until she added, "Henry, what I was saying was that it looked
okay for a goddess."  She winked and asked, "Feel better?"  He
just grinned and nodded his head vigorously.

While Vangie had been looking at Kris's hair, he had been
studying hers.  Kris was about to leave to take a shower when he
stopped her.  "Vangie," he said, "do you mind if I enlist your
daughter's opinion?  I know she's young, but I believe she has a
level of judgment far beyond her years."  Vangie immediately
agreed and Kris sat on a bed to listen.  He continued, "Vangie, I
dyed your hair back to its natural color which is really very
beautiful, by the way.  The problems are two: First, you wear
your hair long, so it will take a year or two for all your hair
to be its normal color.  Second, I know you're getting married
this weekend.  You look like a sprite in exactly the same way
your daughters do.  The problem is," he wailed, "looking at your
natural hair, I can see the color problems starting already.  The
trouble is your dyed hair doesn't change color.  It can't. 
Naturally colored hair can and does.  I'm worried that you're
going to look terrible as you get more sun."

Vangie, now sitting in the chair Kris had just vacated, looked up
at him and said very quietly, "And the solution, Doctor?"

"To cut your gorgeous hair short," he replied softly.  "God,
Vangie, that's the last thing I would ever suggest.  I love your
hair: It's full; it has body, a natural wave... everything.  When
I cut Kris's, it was easy to do because from the point at which
she almost died and the hair stopped growing outward it was all
dead.  It would have been breaking off at that same point until
it was all out, anyway.  It would have just given her endless
trouble and been a real mess.  Understand, that's not your
situation.  You could just wait a year or so, and the worst
problem would be odd coloring... that's all.  But," he concluded,
"I think I should."  He stood and waited.

Without a word, Vangie pulled her hair back away from her face
and held it, turning so he could see her full face.  He nodded
and then asked Kris.  She nodded, too.

"Cut it off, Henry!" Vangie said firmly.  Then she grinned and
said, "Henry, there's another advantage for me that you couldn't
know.  The fact is this... this... _child..._ beat me badly
swimming Saturday night.  I finally realized that it was the drag
of all this hair.  So...  Go to it, Henry!  We'll both keep our
fingers crossed."  He went to work and Kris left them alone.

Kris returned to the room as he was brushing out Vangie's new
hair style.  She looked at her mother who she could tell, in
spite of her apparent calm, was very apprehensive.  Henry was
softly whistling to himself as he worked.  Finally he applied the
last touches, took off the sheet and asked Vangie to look in the
mirror.  She rose, turned around, stopped dead in her tracks and
then stared at her image in the mirror.  Her hairdo was almost
identical in style to Kris's but was slightly longer.  It hugged
her shapely head and, like her daughter's, came together in a
duck-tail in back.  He gave her a hand mirror so she could look
at it in the back, as well.  As she looked, tears started to flow
from her eyes.

Spinning around, she went into his arms crying, "My God, Henry,
who _is_ that?  That woman looks like she's about twenty-five! 
Look youthful?  My God!  It's outrageous.  And the body and
highlights in my hair -- are those real blonde streaks I see?"

He just nodded his head and said, "Vangie, I'm giving Ali her
money back when I return.  This has been the most fun I've had in
years, and it's my very best work.  I'll be honest.  It's far
lovelier than I would have ever thought possible.  There's only
one thing..."

"Anything at all, Henry," Vangie interjected quickly.  "Just name
it."

"Could I stay for your party and go back in the morning?" he
asked diffidently.  "I realize I'm only..."

"...a multiple Academy Award-winning hair stylist who would make
a brilliant addition to any party!" Vangie exclaimed as she
started dancing in glee.  "Some of those bitches will eat their
hearts out!  How on earth could Vangie Collins get the world's
foremost hair stylist to attend her party, let alone get him to
style her hair?  It will drive them crazy."  Then she looked
quizzically and asked, "Henry, I understood completely what you
said about Kris's styling.  How it takes extraordinary beauty and
femininity to get away with it.  What about mine?"

He shook his head and said, "Woman, you're fishing for another
compliment!  It's exactly the same styling.  That's another
reason I wanted to do it.  You look like her older sister.  The
shape of your head, your femininity, your features...
everything... is perfect for this style.  It wouldn't work on
many women though, only the youngest natural beauties."

"And matrons in their forties and fifties?" she asked.

"Disastrous!"

"Mother!" Kris exclaimed, "you wouldn't dare encourage those
women to..."

"The hell I wouldn't!  I think this is sensational.  I'll be
going out to Chicago leaving a ticking time-bomb behind me here
in New York."  She looked at Henry and said, "A good near-term
investment here in the city would be the wig business, I think."

He grinned and shook his head.  "Do you remember what I said
about Kris?" he asked.  "Whether she's a princess or a hoyden? 
Vangie Collins, she's only fourteen.  What's your excuse?"

Vangie just laughed merrily and gave him a light kiss.

Kris came forward and asked, "Mr. Hall, how... how do I look?  Do
I look okay?"

He looked at her, realizing for the first time that she had
changed for the reception already, and he just whistled softly. 
She was wearing the dress Vangie had bought for her to wear at
the party which was identical to the one Vangie herself would be
wearing.  It was white with only the thinnest halter cord around
her neck.  It plunged between her breasts down to her waist and
in the back it was open down to the top of the crease between her
buttocks.  There were slits in the skirt running up both sides to
her hips.  She was wearing only her bikini and ballet slippers. 
There was no jewelry or makeup of any kind.  She stood for his
inspection and then turned and moved in the dress as he watched.

Finally he said, "Kristin, you look utterly spectacular!  The
wonderful thing that will really drive some women nuts is your
skin and complexion.  They are utterly perfect!  Your dress is
cut so that any part of you that shows is the same glorious shade
of gold.  Now, may I have a kiss?"

She went up to him and melted him with the sweetest kiss he had
ever had.  When she kissed him, she had just leaned towards him
with her hands at her sides  The only contact was made with her
lips.

"My God!" he exclaimed, "I don't know the half of it, do I? 
Young lady, we're really going to try to get you into films. 
You'll stand the world on its ear."

"I adore the dress, Mr. Hall," Kris said.  "I'm not fully
developed on top, but it's cut so deep in the back it highlights
my ass.  I think my ass is sort of cute, don't you?"

He just shook his head, then winked at Vangie and left with the
butler who made arrangements to get a dinner jacket for him to
wear that evening.

Jan and Pete arrived at five o'clock and were shown into another
bedroom to change.  A short time later Jan reappeared and found
Vangie.  She was wearing a light-blue gown with an Empire waist,
gathered under her breasts.  It was authentic to the period,
being made of very fine cotton lawn that was so fine in its weave
and texture as to be almost transparent.  Her swollen breasts
with their small areolae and pink nipples were clearly visible as
were her bikini beneath it, and her abdomen now only slightly
rounded with her baby inside.  The blue of the gown complimented
the blue of her eyes.  She looked beautiful and Vangie quickly
told her so.

Later, when Ed arrived, he looked at Vangie and stopped dead in
his tracks.  She just stood and waited for his judgment with
apprehension showing in her eyes.  He let out a soft whistle and
said, "My God!  Evangeline Pierce Collins, what are you doing to
me?  What am I supposed to say when my friends accuse me of
robbing the cradle by marrying a girl less than half my age?"

She moved close to him, kissed him softly and then with
increasing urgency.  When he put his arms around her, he realized
for the first time that her dress had no back so his hands were
caressing her bare skin.  When she reluctantly ended the kiss,
she replied softly, "That's a very easy question to answer,
darling.  Just tell them that I'm marrying you for your money. 
And if they weren't so damned cheap, they could find sweet young
things, too, willing to keep them company in their declining
years."

"Evangeline Collins!" Ed exclaimed with his eyes gleaming.  "Just
wait until we're married!  I'll make you pay for that 'declining
years' crack."

She licked her lips lasciviously and remarked, "I know that,
dear.  Why in hell do you think I made it?  Incidentally, we had
a great lunch with Jane.  I learned that you're an ass man.  You
love to take a woman in her ass.  That's great, darling," she
added, "Because I'm bringing a virginal ass to our marriage bed
for your use!"  Then she winked and twitched her small buns and
asked if it was attractive enough for him.  He laughed merrily
and told her how much he loved her... and her trim little buns.

They had just turned and were walking hand-in-hand towards the
living room when Kris appeared.  She stopped and looked at them
with a tentative smile on her face, waiting for her new father's
opinion.  He just looked at her and slowly shook his head. 
Seeing his reaction, she started to look apprehensive when he
exclaimed, "Damn it, woman, what are you trying to do to me,
anyway?  As if your mother isn't enough, Kris, I have you, too. 
Do you know what you two do to men?  And, damn it, Kristin
Crowley Bradley, you're still only fourteen!"

When she heard his words, Kris visibly relaxed and gave him a big
smile.  "That's only for a little while longer, Daddy.  I'll be
fifteen in only a few more months.  Aren't I looking the least
bit grown up?"

"Kris, there are laws in this state against statutory rape!  That
is sexual relations with a young woman below the legal age of
consent.  Woman, you should be declared illegal!"

Now she beamed with pleasure and said, "Wow!  I really look that
good?  That's terrific!"  She ran into his arms and melted him
with her kiss, then she took his other hand and they went to the
living room to await their guests.*Chapter 60*

That evening, in yet another break with the normal practice in
her social circle where studied informality was the rule, Vangie
set up a receiving line for her guests.  She was at the head of
the line with Janice Stewart standing beside her.  Jan was
succeeded by Pete, then Henry Hall, followed by Ed Bradley and
finally, Kristin.

One of the first people to arrive was Carrie Smith, the woman who
had called her attention to the TV piece on Cathy in the Super
Bowl show.  When Carrie first saw Vangie, she stopped dead in her
tracks.  Then she rushed to her and said, "My God, Vangie!  What
happened to you?  You're... You're _exquisite!_  Let me look at
you."

Vangie just stood there for her inspection, moving a knee to one
side.  Because of the slit sides of the gown, her bare leg and
magnificent thigh were revealed all the way up to her hip in its
golden beauty.  In addition to her gown, all Vangie was wearing
was her gold collar and her engagement ring.

Carrie carefully touched Vangie's hair and realized it was
holding itself in place with no sprays or anything else.  Finally
she said, "Darling, I have never seen your hair look so
marvelous!  And the color!  What's its name and who made it?"

"It's name is Vangie's, and I made it myself," Vangie replied
with a grin.  "I'm so pleased that you like it."  She then
introduced Carrie to Jan, saying, "Carrie, I would like you to
meet my best friend, Janice Stewart.  Although Jan is expecting
her first child next month, I prevailed on her to come out from
Chicago for this party."  Jan looked utterly gorgeous.  Henry had
worked on her hair.  It had taken him only a few minutes to trim
it and comb it out into its golden brilliance.

Carrie looked at the woman and said, "Vangie got it wrong didn't
she?  Or maybe I didn't hear her correctly.  Did she say you're
expecting next month?"

"Actually, Carrie, it's the end of this month or early next. 
Neither Pete nor I care enough to find out more precisely."

Carrie just looked at her beautifully rounded abdomen and then
touched it.  As she did, she felt a kick from the baby inside and
yanked her hand away in shock.  "My God!  You really are, aren't
you?" she exclaimed.  "I... I just felt your passenger making his
presence felt.  Is it a boy or girl, by the way?"

"I have no idea," Jan replied with a very warm smile.  "It will
be a surprise to us, too.  My bet is it's a boy, but whichever it
is, it's going to be a very active little thing!"  Carrie
returned her smile and went down the line, finally reaching
Kristin.

Ed Bradley introduced her and she just gaped.  "Good heavens! 
You... You're going to be Vangie's daughter!?"

"I certainly hope so, Mrs. Smith," Kris replied with a warm
smile.

The woman just shook her head at Kris's revealed beauty.  Then
she said, "I have a son who is about to graduate from Harvard.  I
would love to have him meet you, Kris.  You... You're not
engaged, or anything, are you?"

"No, Mrs. Smith, I'm not.  And thank you so much for the
compliment.  But I really don't think your son would be
interested in me.  You see, I'm only fourteen.  The fact is, not
only am I not engaged, I've never even had a date!"  With the
revelation, Carrie's jaw dropped and she just stood flatfooted. 
Then Kris added, "You see, Mrs. Smith, I spent all of last year
in the hospital.  I was in a serious automobile accident a couple
of months after my thirteenth birthday and I guess I never
thought of boys back then."  She explained to her about meeting
Cathy and Ken when she was only a few days short of death.

When she finished, Carrie was holding both of her hands and tears
were flowing from the older woman's eyes.  She finally just shook
her head and said, "Kristin, I think the whole world may owe a
debt of gratitude to Cathy and Ken, then.  The thought of losing
such incredible beauty is terrible."  Then she brightened and
added, "But you look so happy now!"

Then she looked down the receiving line at Vangie and then back
at Kris, realizing for the first time that their dresses were
identical and their hairdos were nearly so.  "Kristin, you look
like your mother's younger sister."  Then she laughed and said,
"She looks like she's about twenty-five and you look like you're
about twenty!  You're both looking incredibly beautiful tonight."
 Kris just beamed at the compliment.

The evening developed the way Vangie had foreseen.  Repeatedly, a
woman saw her and stopped short, utterly shocked at the change in
her appearance.  She told anyone who cared to listen that her
hairdo was by Henry Hall, the famous Hollywood stylist.  From
their surreptitious motions several of her friends were giving
serious thought to changing their hair style to match hers.

Vangie greeted a woman she knew only slightly, Sonia Strong, who
arrived with her husband.  When she turned, she instantly saw the
coldness in Jan's eyes and the fact that she kept her hands at
her sides.  She said coolly, "Sonia and I know one another,
Vangie," she said softly.  Then to the woman she asked, "Have you
lost any weight, Sonia?  Looking at you it doesn't appear that
you have.  Frankly, you have the most atrocious thighs I've ever
seen on a woman -- and that hay field that passes for your pubic
patch is utterly disgusting!"

Then to Vangie she said, "Sonia was one of my customers. 
Thinking about it, though, perhaps I'm being harsh.  Had it not
been for the beating to which she contributed, I might never have
run away from Hugo Bingham.  Had that not happened, the events
that ultimately brought me here tonight would never have taken
place."

Turning back to Sonia -- who, after her earlier remarks looked
like she would like to disappear into a crack in the floor -- she
extended her hand and said, "I think I owe you my thanks,Sonia."

The woman seemed to be frozen in place, unable to move.  When she
was first introduced, she hadn't recognized Jan, but did
instantly when she mentioned Bingham.  Tentatively, she extended
her hand and Jan took it this time.  Then she turned to the
woman's husband and said, "Henry, how have you been?  Have you
seen your dear friend, Hugo Bingham, lately?  You and he were
such friends, I'd expect you to see him on visiting days.  Of
course, I guess he's now doing twenty-to-life at hard, isn't he?
He didn't qualify for one of the Federal country clubs. 
Extortion and white slavery don't come under the current
definition of white-collar crimes, do they?"

Peter Stewart had been watching and listening to the exchange. 
As he did, his eyes had grown cold.  He knew that these were some
of the people who had tortured Janice without mercy when she was
a prostitute.  As a result, he was prepared when Henry Strong
screamed and swung at her.  Moving quick as a cat, Pete put
himself in front of his wife, blocked the wild swing and then
leveled the man with a single short punch.

Turning to Jan, he took her in his arms and hugged her, feeling
her distended abdomen against his lower body.  He murmured
softly, "Janice Stewart, you're my love, my darling.  No one will
ever harm you if I can help it!"  Meanwhile Vangie had
unconcernedly arranged to have Henry Strong carried from the room
-- he was still out cold -- and called the police to come and
arrest him for assault and attempted battery.

Still later, Vangie introduced a rather mousy-looking man, Barry
Karras, to Jan.  Like the Strongs, he was a friend of a friend
who Vangie knew only slightly.  He appeared to be in his
mid-forties and was accompanied by a young woman who didn't
appear to be very intelligent.  When she introduced Barry to Jan,
this time she noted the amusement in her friend's eyes.  After
the experience with the Strongs, Vangie had been watching Jan's
reaction to her introductions very closely.

"Hello, Barry," Jan said softly.  "It's been a long time."  Then
to Vangie she said, "Barry was one of my best individual
customers.  He always wanted a blow job.  In fact, I was never
sure if he could actually do it with a woman.  Heaven knows he
never did it with me."  Turning back to the man she asked,
"Barry, is this your current girl friend, or...?"  The man now
recognized Janice and blushed as red as a beet.

"This is... is... my wife, Dawn," he replied withoutelaboration.

"Is she good, Barry?" Jan asked innocently.  "Does she have a
talented mouth, too?  You always said that I was the best you had
ever found.  Is she my successor?"  The man swallowed hard and
rushed out to the hall while dragging his wife by the hand. 
Jan's soft laughter followed them out the door as they fled the
party.

When they left, Pete kissed Jan's cheek and said, "Darling, that
was mean.  He was a client, after all."

She just grinned at him and said, "Darling, you're absolutely
right.  I was nasty, mean, brutish, and...  But you knew all that
before you married me.  Don't say you weren't warned."

He looked at her with his eyes dancing and said, "That's unfair,
Jan.  You warned me all right, but you warned me about all the
wrong things.  You told me about your prior life but you never
warned me that you were utterly insatiable in your sexual
demands.  You never told me how you became so soft and wet and
wonderful in your cumings..."

Then he kissed her and added, "But it was a wonderful surprise
when I found out!  And now you're going to deliver our child. 
Darling, I hope you know that you have made me the happiest man
on the face of the earth?"  She kissed him and snuggled close to
his chest.

When the receiving line broke up, the party began in earnest. 
Vangie caught up with Kris, kissed her softly and told her how
proud of her she was.  A magnificent buffet was opened and Vangie
noticed that the girl managed her food with such grace and aplomb
it appeared as if she had never eaten any way other than standing
holding a plate in her entire life.  Yet Vangie was certain it
was the first buffet meal the girl had ever eaten.  She enjoyed
watching the guests approach Kris and talk with her while they
studied her features.  It was clear they had never met a person
like her in their lives.

Later in the evening, there was music for dancing.  Ed took
Vangie in his arms and found she moved with him like a dream.  "I
hope you're satisfied, Evangeline Pierce Collins?" he whispered
with laughter barely suppressed in his voice.  "Have you done
enough damage for one day?"

"Almost, darling," she replied coolly, "but I'm still looking for
additional opportunities.  After all, we're leaving the city and
I do _so_ want to be remembered!"  He chuckled and lifted her
chin to give her a warm kiss.

Jan, now resting after all the time spent on her feet in the
receiving line, was seated beside Pete and talking when Kris
joined them.  She stood bashfully and asked, "Mrs. Stewart, would
it be all right with you if I asked Mr. Stewart to dance with
me?"

"It would not!" Jan replied firmly, causing Kris's face to fall.
"To you, Kristin Crowley Bradley, he's not Mr. Stewart.  He's
Pete, or if you absolutely insist, Uncle Pete.  And I'm Jan, or
Aunt Jan, or...  But I think you get the idea.  Now, young lady,
would you care to try again?"  Kris grinned and asked again, this
time calling him Uncle Pete.  Jan shook her head sadly and warned
her that her feet would be crushed under his big feet, but if she
insisted, it was at her own risk.

"As long as he carries me to bed, Aunt Jan, I really don't mind.
I think I would love to be carried in his arms!"

They went out on the dance floor together.  Pete looked down at
the lovely girl and said, "Kris, I want you to know that your
mother considers herself to be the luckiest woman in the world to
have you as a daughter.  You know something else?  I think she's
right.  You're a delight."  They continued to dance and finally
Pete shook his head and said, "Your aunt is going to kill me when
I tell her that you're even lighter on your feet than she is on
hers.  If you knew how much I adore my wife and how incredibly
light on her feet she is, you'd better appreciate what I'm
saying.  You're unbelievable!"

Kris tipped up her chin and softly kissed Pete full on the lips.
When she moved away, he whistled softly and said, "Thank you,
Kris.  Your kiss is so sweet and soft and full of your love and
innocence.  It's in a class of kissing all its own.  Your aunt
and I love you dearly!"

When the last guests departed, Vangie, Kris, Ed, the Stewarts,
and Henry Hall all sat in the living room having a nightcap. 
Henry said, "It worked exactly the way you thought it would,
Vangie.  I think I may take you up on that tip and look for a wig
company to buy."  He chuckled and added, "I think it's hilarious,
personally."

Jan was sitting on the sofa in Pete's arms.  She looked at Kris
and said, "Honey, I think your mother is the luckiest person
alive to have you as her daughter.  And you're the luckiest
person alive to have her for your mother, for that matter."

"Aunt Jan, you don't know the half of it," Kris replied with a
warm smile.  "If it hadn't been for Cathy and Ken, I wouldn't be
anyone's daughter nor would anyone be my mother.  I would just be
in a pine box next to my parents and my brother.  I owe
everything to them.  Everything!"

Still later that night when they were both in bed, Kris was in
her favorite position, nestled in Vangie's arms.  She kissed her
warmly and said, "Mom, you're so beautiful!"  Then she ran her
fingers along the back of her mother's neck and felt her body
wriggle with joy at the sensation.  "This is fun, isn't it?" she
whispered.

Her mother just grinned and was doing the same thing to her as
they both drifted off to sleep.*Chapter 61*

On Wednesday morning, Pamela Castle was in her office at the
Illinois Department of Human Services.  She was going over a list
of adoptions scheduled for the week and was checking the list
against her paperwork.  Pamela considered it her job to protect
children from a fate worse than death: being adopted by
inadequately qualified parents.  Going down the list she found a
new name, Kristin Elizabeth Crowley.  She frowned as she read it.
 Pamela was not comfortable with anything new.  Checking her
lists she confirmed her initial suspicion: There was no file on
the girl.  After making inquiries at the office of the clerk of
Family Court, she called the Stewart residence.  The phone was
answered by an answering machine so she left a detailed message
for Kristin Crowley to get in touch with her as soon aspossible.

When Jan, Pete, Vangie, and Kris returned to the Stewarts', Jan
listened to the message tape.  Kris called Pamela Castle and was
asked to come down to the office as soon as possible.  Jan loaned
her car to Vangie who drove Kris in to Chicago.  At the Human
Services office, Kris was shown into an inner office while Vangie
waited in the lobby.  Finally at four forty-five, a somewhat
overweight young woman appeared and informed her that Kris would
be staying with them overnight.

Before Vangie could respond, the woman disappeared behind a
locked door.  Quickly, Vangie ran to a pay phone and called Jan.
When Jan answered, she said, "I think we have big trouble!  I'm
afraid Kris may be caught up in the social-service bureaucracy. 
My God, Jan, what will we do?"  Jan said she would get on it
right away.

As soon as she hung up the phone, Janice Stewart began to
mobilize their forces.  First, she called Jennifer Chapman and
explained the situation in just a few sentences.  As much as Jan
teased her about being a useless airhead, Jennifer was a
brilliant girl who was extremely clear-thinking and capable in
any crisis.  She said that she would call the Chapmans and Ali,
while Jan should call Ed Bradley and Cindy.  In a matter of just
a few minutes, well before Vangie returned to the house, the
wheels were turning.  Ed Bradley used Dave Chapman's attorneys to
prepare a _habeas corpus_ petition for filing first thing
Thursday morning.  That night in bed Vangie tossed and turned in
fear.

The next day, while the lawyers were beginning their work, she
received a phone call from Kris.  The girl sounded very angry but
didn't seem to be at all worried.  She told her mother that there
was no time to talk, but gave her a short list of people for her
to contact and to have in the courtroom on Friday morning.

Vangie knew most of the people, but there were two names she
didn't recognize: Dr. Robert Parker of the Mayo Clinic, and
Virginia Adams, a flight attendant with United Airlines.  After
Kris hung up the phone very abruptly, Vangie called Cathy at the
bank.  Although she wasn't in the bank, the entire unit had been
alerted to the potential problem, so they reached her moments
later with an emergency call to her mobile telephone.  Cathy,
with a lump in her throat, assured her mother that she and Ken
would be in the courtroom bright and early at nine the next
morning and Virginia Adams would be with them.

Vangie then called the Mayo Clinic and asked for Dr. Parker.  She
told the operator that it was an emergency -- potentially life or
death.  A few minutes later, after a substantial amount of call
shifting, Parker came on the line.  She introduced herself and
learned that he was the doctor to whom Cathy had spoken when she
called from the plane while in-flight to Hawaii.  Quickly, she
explained to him that she and her husband were planning to adopt
Kris but the social-service bureaucracy was rearing its ugly
head.  She ended by telling the doctor that there would be a
private jet standing by for him at the Rochester, Minnesota,
airport to fly him to Chicago.  It would be parked at the airport
ready to roll within two hours and would be standing by in
Rochester until he was ready to leave.

Parker swallowed hard and said, "Mrs. Collins, I get the idea
that money is not a particular problem for you?"

"Doctor Parker, let me put it this way," Vangie replied.  "The
plane that will be waiting for you costs about thirty million
dollars, give or take a few.  If you like, I would be happy to
leave it with you as a gift after it returns you to Rochester. 
Is that clear enough?"

He whistled softly and said it was perfectly clear.  He would be
ready to leave late that night.  Vangie said a limousine would be
meeting him at the executive air terminal at Midway Airport and
would take him to the Water Tower Hyatt where a suite would be
ready for him.  "Of course, Doctor, it should go without saying
that there will be no bills!"  Then she hastily added, "Except
whatever bill you would care to render for your professional
services, of course."

That night, Jan sat on Vangie's bed with her back resting against
the headboard just stroking the woman's neck while she
inconsolably cried herself to sleep.

The next morning, the Family Court scheduled to hear the adoption
request and the _habeas corpus_ petition was packed with
spectators.  Vangie was panicked when she saw Kris escorted into
the courtroom under guard.  She sat alone at the plaintiff's
table and just shook her head when the Chapman attorneys moved to
join her.  Vangie had no idea what the girl was doing but she
trusted her judgment.

The court was called to order with Judge Robert Ferguson
presiding.  He looked at Kris sitting alone and then at the other
table where Pamela Castle was seated along with two attorneys
from the Department of Human Services.  Looking back at Kris, he
raised an eyebrow in question.

Kris said, "Your Honor, my name is Kristin Elizabeth Crowley. 
There is a petition in front of you requesting that you approve
my adoption by Edgar Warren Bradley and Evangeline Pierce
Collins."  When his eyebrow rose again, she added with a warm
smile, "Your Honor, my parents... my proposed adoptive parents...
are scheduled to be married tomorrow morning.  I'm asking your
permission to represent myself and them in these proceedings.  I
believe I have the greatest interest in the outcome, after all."

He agreed and ordered the hearing to proceed.  Kris called Pamela
Castle as her first witness.  Pamela looked startled at being
called and then even more startled when Kris insisted that she be
sworn.

"But, Your Honor," the woman protested, "I am an officer of the
state, and these hearings are informal.  The _suggestion_ that I
might not tell the truth is... is..."

"Then there's no problem with your testifying under oath, is
there?" Kris interrupted.  The woman was nonplused but there was
nothing she could say.  After taking the oath she took her seat
in the witness box.  Kris began her questioning immediately. 
"Please state your name, age, and occupation."

"I must protest, Your Honor," Castle said, "at being questioned
by this... this child!  Why..."

"You _do_ know the answers to my questions, don't you, Miss
Castle?" Kris interjected.  "They are really quite
straightforward and should be easy to answer, even for a
bureaucrat."

Judge Ferguson covered his mouth with his hand to mask his grin.
The girl was obviously very smart and mentally very quick.  He
looked at her and then looked at the notes on his bench.  It
stated her age as fourteen and yet she had the apparent maturity
of a person far older.  Looking again, he saw a young woman
wearing a very expensive silk suit which, while hand-tailored to
her figure, was now quite wrinkled and showing some stains.  She
was tanned and incredibly beautiful with the most fascinating
purple eyes he had ever seen.  He ordered the witness to answer
the question.

"My name is Pamela Jane Castle.  I am twenty-five years old and
am a staff social worker in the Illinois Department of Human
Services," she said, glaring at Kris.  The girl merely nodded.

"When did we first meet, Miss Castle, and for what purpose?"  She
testified that they had met two days earlier to review the
adoption papers.

"And what were you looking for?" Kris asked innocently.

"Well!  That's perfectly obvious.  To ensure that you would be
adopted into an appropriate home."

"What happens if the home is not appropriate?  What's the
adoption rate among orphaned teenagers?" Kris asked.

The woman sputtered and said everything must be in order or the
Department stopped the adoption.  She didn't answer the second
question.

Kris insisted.  "Miss Castle, the adoption rate among teenagers?
That is all children aged thirteen to nineteen.  I'm waiting."

"Your Honor, this is utterly ridiculous!  my department is not on
trial here.  Information of that nature is highly confidential!"

"Miss Castle, I disagree," Kris replied.  "Your department _is_
on trial... and should be.  Why did you inject yourself into this
matter?  What are your special qualifications for playing God? 
Why should the percentage of adoptions be confidential unless the
numbers are so bad you want to hide the truth from the
taxpayers?"

Judge Ferguson ordered her to answer the question in spite of
additional objections from Departmental counsel.

"Low," the woman muttered in reply.  Kris asked the judge to
order the witness to speak up.  She repeated the answer and Kris
insisted on knowing how low was low.  Castle admitted it was
under 10 percent.

"So, Miss Castle, if you don't approve my adoption by the
Bradleys, the odds are less than one in ten that anyone else
would ever adopt me.  Where would I be living?  Where was I
staying for the last two nights?"

"In a comfortable location," she replied primly.  "For the last
two nights you were kept in special facilities for children such
as yourself."

"Your Honor," Kris said, "for your information the special
facilities to which she refers are cells in the Cook County Jail.
 You're welcome to smell my clothing.  It stinks of urine, human
excrement, and vomit.  Yesterday evening, when I was going to
eat, I was the victim of an attempted homosexual rape!  This was
for my protection?  Those were more attractive and healthful
surrounding than my aunt's mansion in Deerfield?"

The judge motioned for her to come forward and she extended her
arm.  He sniffed at her sleeve and made a face.  "Miss Castle, do
you have an answer for this... this... _idiocy?"_

"Of course, Your Honor.  My office has not been out to Miss
Crowley's place of residence in Deerfield.  How could we know
without seeing it in what conditions she might be living?  I
mean... really!"

The judge just shook his head and motioned Kris to continue.

"Did you administer certain tests to me over the last two days?"
Kris asked.  The woman nodded.  "What were the results of those
tests?"

"That's highly confidential information!" the woman exclaimed. 
"It cannot be released."

"Oh?" Kris responded, looking meaningfully at Judge Ferguson.

"Miss Castle," the judge asked, "under what circumstances can it
be released and from whom is it to be kept secret?"

The woman just sputtered and finally said, "Why...  Well, it's
available only to competent authority and kept from all
unauthorized individuals."

"Miss Castle, it may have escaped your notice, but this is a
courtroom," the judge said scathingly.  "You are testifying under
oath.  This court _is_ competent authority!  The question Miss
Crowley asked is quite reasonable and you are ordered to answer
it _in full!_  I trust I will not need to remind you again!"

Vangie was sitting beside Ed who had his arm around her.  She
turned to him and whispered, "Darling, why is it that I think
that woman is overmatched?  And Kris is only fourteen!"

He kissed her softly and replied in a whisper, "Because she _is_
overmatched.  And when she answers the question, I think you'll
learn why."

"I administered some intelligence tests," she replied huffily.

"I also asked for the results," Kris reminded her.

"Miss Crowley, really!  Intelligence tests are racially and
culturally biased.  They don't really measure anything..."

"If that's so, Miss Castle, why do you ever use them?  But you
did, and I believe the judge ordered you to answer my question. 
I'm waiting."

"One hundred eighty," she replied in a voice scarcely above a
whisper.

"Did I hear you say 180?" Kris asked.  "The judge also asked you
to speak up."  The woman nodded her head just once.  "Where is
180 on your scale?" she asked.

"It's a high score," Castle replied reluctantly.

"Come, come, Miss Castle!" Kris chided, treating her as if she
were the younger person.  "It's the highest possible score, isn't
it?"

"How do you know that?" Castle demanded angrily.  "You're only a
child!"  Kris looked meaningfully at the judge.

"Miss Castle, this is the last time I will warn you!" he
exploded.  "Do you understand?  If I have to speak to you one
more time, I will also find you in contempt of court.  Is that
clear?  Now answer the question!" he thundered.

Suddenly, the woman looked frightened.  Clearly this whole affair
was out of control, and totally beyond her experience or
competence.  She was accustomed to jurists fawning over her and
taking her words as Divine writ.  But this hearing was taking a
very different -- and frightening -- turn.  "It is the highest
score possible," she said clearly.

"Miss Castle, have you ever heard of the University of Michigan
Intelligence Battery?" Kris asked.  The woman looked puzzled and
just shook her head, no.  Kris said, "It's a battery developed at
that university that discriminates at IQ levels above 180.  It's
a very interesting test.  I had a lot of fun with it when I took
it a few years ago."

The woman now looked at Kris in utter amazement.  "But... But...
How could you know?" she asked.

"I took the test, Miss Castle.  Why would I not know?  Now, has
your department reached a position with respect to my adoption by
Mr. Bradley and Mrs. Collins?"

"Why, no.  Of course not," she replied.  "These things require
careful study, and..."

"When do you intend to complete your study?" Kris interrupted.

"Why... within a year, I should hope.  Of course, it is dependent
on funding and the legislature..."

"What do you hope to learn as a result of this additional study?"
Kris asked.

"Well... the housing conditions.  Your environment.  Things like
that."

Kris just nodded and excused the witness, subject to recall. 
Then she said, "Your Honor, this seems like a ridiculous waste of
the taxpayers' money to me.  Furthermore, I have no intention of
sitting in a jail cell for the next year or so while the powers
that be contemplate their navels to determine if I can live with
my parents.  For reasons you'll soon learn, I've lost enough time
already.  I hope we can settle this within the hour.  I call as
my next witness Doctor Robert Parker."

Dr. Parker came forward.  Before he went to the witness stand he
took Kris in his arms and hugged her, then gave her a big kiss
and said, "Darling Kris, you look utterly magnificent!  I'm so
happy for you."  She just winked as he went forward and was
sworn.

Before Kris could begin her questioning, one of the lawyers for
Human Services rose and objected.  He rsaid, "Your Honor, we
object to this witness testifying.  His is not on the
Department's list of accredited care-givers, and..."

He stopped abruptly when Judge Ferguson slammed down his gavel. 
"It seems to be beyond the ken of you folks," Ferguson said
sarcastically, "but this is _not_ the Department of Human
Services!  It is the Family Court of the State of Illinois, a
branch of the State judiciary.  Frankly, I don't give a damn
about your list of accredited care-givers, whoever in hell they
may be.  There is a witness waiting to testify.  When Miss
Crowley finishes her questioning, you may cross-examine.  Except
for the possibility of objecting to one of her questions, you
will remain silent during her questioning.

"Finally, I will remind Counsel that a hallmark of family court
is that we provide a very wide latitude for questioning. 
Therefore, before you even think about interrupting her, you had
better be very sure of your ground.  The warning I gave to Miss
Castle regarding being held in contempt applies at least as
strongly to you two who are attorneys and should know better.  Do
you understand?"  The chastened lawyers both indicated
understanding.

Turning to Kris, Judge Ferguson said, "Miss Crowley, my records
indicate that you are fourteen years old.  Is that correct?"

"Yes it is, Your Honor," Kris replied.

"Wow!" the judge muttered softly under his breath.  Then in a
very kind voice he said, "Kris, you are performing brilliantly. 
And regardless of what Miss Castle says, I, for one, think that
your IQ scores are a very accurate measure of _your_
intelligence!"  Then he asked, "I hope you don't mind me calling
you Kris?"

"Not at all, Your Honor.  I was always Kristin until I met Ken
and Cathy Bradley.  I think it was Ken who christened me Kris and
I've come to greatly prefer it."

Then she turned to Parker who had been waiting in the witness
chair and began her questioning.  "Dr. Parker, please tell the
court your credentials and professional affiliations."  Parker
listed the Mayo Clinic where he was chief of pediatrics.  He was
also professor of pediatric nutrition at the University of
Minnesota.  His professional honors, publications, and
affiliations took more than five minutes to recite.  When he
concluded, Kris turned to the judge and said, "Your Honor, I'm in
over my head now.  I was trying to qualify Dr. Parker as an
expert witness.  Did I do it right?  Is there anything else I
need to establish?"

"Kris, you certainly did it to my satisfaction.  What I learned
is that Dr. Parker is the greatest authority in the United
States, and maybe the greatest in the world, in the fields of
nutrition and child development."  He looked over at the Human
Services table and they reluctantly acknowledged the doctor's
expertise.

At that point, Kris asked Parker, "Doctor, when did you first
meet me, and what was my physical condition at that time?" 
Parker told how he came on the case nearly a year earlier when
Kris was transferred to Mayo from Carleton.  At that time her
weight was down to ninety pounds and still falling.  "Doctor,
when did you see me last prior to today?" Kris asked.  He replied
that it was in late January.  At that time her weight was down to
seventy pounds and continuing to fall.

"What was my condition at that time, Doctor?"  What was the
prognosis?"

"You were in the final stages of death from starvation, Kristin.
The prognosis was death within ninety days or less," he replied
with tears in his eyes.

"Doctor, I think you were a bit optimistic.  I would have been
dead within ninety-six hours at the outside and more likely
within seventy-two."  Kris then detailed specifics of her
condition that he couldn't have known.  When she finished her
recital she asked, "Do you agree?"

Parker looked at the judge and said, "Your Honor, I'm a
physician, not a jurist.  However, does Kris know as much about
law as she does about medicine?  The specific answer to her
question, though, is that, yes, I agree.  She would have been
dead within ninety-six hours at the outside."

Then he asked, "Your Honor, may I make an explanatory comment?" 
Ferguson immediately agreed, and Parker spoke in a firm voice
that carried to the corners of the courtroom.  "The Mayo Clinic
is known worldwide for the range and quality of its medical
care," he said.  "That being the case, some of you must wonder
how this young woman could starve to death while in our care. 
The answer is painfully simple.  The fact is that the world's
leading authority on the mechanics of starvation is this young
woman, Kristin Crowley.  She systematically defeated -- without
our knowledge, of course -- every effort we made to introduce
nutrients into her body.  Her knowledge and skills were so great
that at the time she left us we were convinced that she was dying
of some strange, hitherto-unknown disease.

Ferguson whispered to Parker who was sitting beside the judge's
bench, "Doc, in response to your earlier question, she's at least
as good a lawyer as she is a physician."  Parker just winked.

"Finally, Dr. Parker, you haven't examined me today -- I would be
happy to strip and you could do it right here, if you would like
-- but what is your opinion of my physical condition now?  What
is your prognosis?"

Parker just grinned and said, "Kris, that won't be necessary.  I
have never seen a female human look better than you do today. 
You are truly a picture of health.  Your beauty is overwhelming.
Prognosis?  How long do you want to live?  Age one hundred?  One
hundred-ten?  Honey, it's essentially limitless."

"Then, Doctor, would you say that I benefitted from whatever I
encountered between the time I left the Mayo Clinic and today?"

Parker just shook his head.  "Kris, I suppose we have to do this
for the record.  So, for the record, if the difference between
immediate death and unlimited life is a benefit, yes, you did
receive a benefit.  It's clear to me, honey, that someone
re-instilled in you the desire to live.  That person or those
persons saved your life."

She winked and said she had no further questions and asked if
there were any from Human Services.  There were, but they only
succeeded in further reinforcing the impressions previously made
in Parker's direct testimony.

Kris crossed her fingers and called as her next witness Virginia
Adams.  Kris hadn't seen Ginny but was confident that her mother
would produce her if it was humanly possible.  Ginny came
forward, kissed Kris, took the stand and was sworn in.  After
stating her name and occupation, Kris asked, "Mrs. Adams, when
did you first meet me, and under what circumstances?"

Ginny described the flight to Hawaii and dwelled on the fact that
Kris appeared dead until she asked if she would like to meet the
Bradleys who had been featured in a film that had just been shown
in the cabin.  Kris asked what her eyes looked like, and Ginny
replied in a single word: dead.

Then she said, "Mrs. Adams, in your own words, would you please
tell the court what happened next?"

"I brought you forward to meet Cathy and Ken Bradley," Ginny
Adams replied.  "The next thing I knew, you were sitting on Ken
Bradley's lap and he was playing games, feeding you.  The first
thing I noticed was the light in your eyes.  It was the first
spark of life I had seen in you."  She produced the photograph
she had taken that day and passed it to the judge.  Previously,
he had heard about her starvation, but it was only when he saw
the picture that he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his
stomach and some knowledge of what the word, starvation, really
meant.

Then Ginny said, "Your Honor, I next saw Kris on a flight from
Los Angeles to Chicago.  She was still with the Bradleys."  She
showed him the picture of Kris looking the way she did in the
courtroom.  He just shook his head.

Just then a spectator rose from his seat, came to the railing
separating the spectators from the trial personnel and looked at
the judge plaintively.  Ferguson asked him what he wanted and the
man introduced himself as Richard Miller, president of A Child's
Last Wish, Inc., and asked for permission to come forward and
address the court.  Permission was granted and he went to the
judge's bench.  Kris greeted him and he asked if he could testify
in her behalf.  He assured her his testimony would fit right into
the chronology of the hearing at the present point.  Kris asked
that he be sworn and he took the stand.

"Your Honor," Miller said, "I'm president of A Child's Last Wish,
Inc.  We're the organization that made arrangements for Miss
Crowley's trip to Hawaii.  We operate on a very small budget and
are staffed almost entirely with volunteers.  We also receive
invaluable assistance from travel and hospitality organizations.
For example, on Miss Crowley's trip United Airlines donated the
transportation, Hyatt Corporation was providing the hotel room,
the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce was picking up a number of tours
and incidentals, and so forth.

"The reason I came to Chicago today was to thank Miss Crowley. 
You see, on Tuesday I received a check in her name for one
million dollars.  It was the first payment on what is an annual
pledge of at least as much money.  Frankly, this is far more
money than our organization has ever had before.  Because of its
volunteer nature, I don't believe we've had a total of one
million dollars in our entire history.  With the check came a
letter from Evangeline Pierce Collins.  In the letter she told us
about her plans to adopt Kristin and also sent us a recent
picture of her.  She said that Kristin is the most lovable and
loving person she's ever met.  Although she had only known her
for a couple of days when she mailed us the check, she didn't
believe she could love anyone more and already considers her to
be her daughter.

"Your Honor, our organization is very proud of one thing.  With
respect to money donated to us, over 99 percent is used directly
for the children whose last days on earth we try to make a little
more pleasant."  With a pointed look at the Human Services table
he added, "I wish the same could be said for other human service
providers.  However, Your Honor, I have here the file on Kristin
Elizabeth Crowley we compiled largely from material supplied by
the Mayo Clinic.  Included are some photographs you may find
interesting."  He opened a manilla envelope and removed a stack
of five eleven-by-fourteen glossy photos which he put on the
judge's bench.

Ferguson looked at them and visibly paled.  They showed Kris in
bed nude with the covers pulled down to her pubic area.  Although
some showed her nude chest, there were no breasts at all.  In
fact, all it showed was skin and bones.  The last two showed her
legs.  Not only did her thighs appear to be no larger than the
femur bone itself, but both the tibia and fibula in the lower leg
were individually visible.  The judge ordered the photographs to
be marked as exhibits and passed to the Human Services table.

When she looked at the pictures, Pamela Castle exclaimed, "My
God!", immediately retched and vomited up her breakfast. 
Ferguson noted that Kris herself had not reacted at all when she
looked at the pictures.  There was a short recess to clean up the
mess.

Returning to the witness stand following the recess, Miller said,
"There's one question I would like to raise.  At the time these
pictures were taken, the notation says that Kristin weighed
seventy-eight pounds.  Dr. Parker testified that she weighed
seventy when she left the Clinic.  Can you figure out where eight
more pounds could have come from on a frame that already looks
like a skeleton's?"

Ferguson thanked Miller for taking the time to come to the
hearing and then excused him.  When Miller left the witness
chair, he took Kris in his arms, hugged her and said, "Miss
Crowley, the only problem we have is that we usually lose the
children we help.  You're an exception.  There is one more thing:
I have been asked by my directors to invite you to serve on our
Board of Directors.  We realize you are only fourteen, but we're
requesting an exemption from our state of incorporation to permit
a minor to serve on our Board.  Kristin, would you be willing to
help us select more children to help?  With your mother's
extraordinary gift, we now have the capacity to help many more
children than we ever could in the past.  Will you help us? 
Please?"

Tears were flowing from Kris's eyes and she began to cry in
earnest but kept her head up straight.  "Mr. Miller, nothing
could give me greater pleasure than to try to help you help other
children.  It's obvious what you've done for me.  Who knows? 
Maybe there are other children who could make it if their desire
to live was just a little stronger."

Then she addressed the bench and said, "Judge Ferguson, there's
something else you should know.  What you have seen is typical of
Evangeline Pierce Collins.  My first knowledge that she had done
anything at all was when Mr. Miller told his story this morning.
She never breathed a word to me, and I would bet all the money I
have that she told no one else, either.  It's just one more very
small reason why I love her so very much!"

Looking at the girl, Judge Ferguson shook his head and said,
"Kris, you were really in bad shape, weren't you?"  She grinned
and said she was a disaster.  "Dr. Parker tells us that you may
be the foremost authority on starvation.  Would you please tell
us what we're seeing in these pictures."

"Of course, Your Honor," she replied.  "You see, the body has a
number of energy -- or nutrition -- sources.  The most common, of
course, is the food we eat each day.  The body burns it for
energy to keep all the body processes functioning.  If there's
more food than the body needs immediately, the rest is converted
to fat and stored.  When food is lacking, the process reverses. 
The first thing the body does is to begin to metabolize its
stored fat, converting it back into energy."

Kris smiled wryly and said, "I guess I'm an expert, Your Honor. 
The fact is I have a diary that may be useful to someone,
someday.  In it I report day by day on my progress in joining my
parents.  At any rate, once the body runs out of fat to burn, it
faces some painful decisions.  What happens next is really quite
interesting.  You see, the body has a hierarchy of importance for
all organs, limbs, and even bodily functions.  For instance, the
body will metabolize muscles in the limbs to try to maintain the
torso and its vital organs.  It's ultimate organ is the brain. 
When there is no more fat, the body begins to metabolize muscle
tissue following its pattern of taking from the least necessary
organs to support the more vital ones, converting the muscle
tissue to energy.

"The result is what you saw in the pictures.  You see, Your
Honor, the reason I knew I only had seventy-two to ninety-six
hours left to live was that I had calculated the minimum rate of
burning -- calories are a measure of heat and they are chemically
burned to fuel the body -- and estimated the amount of my tissue
left unburned that could be converted to fuel without causing
death.

"I said minimum burning rate.  The body is really quite
interesting.  You see, the reason my hair is so short is that all
the hair I had before the accident has been shorn.  If you were
to have looked at one of my hairs under powerful magnification
you could have seen where a strand thinned virtually to
nonexistence.  This happened during my starvation.  Growing hair
is a nonessential process, so the body stopped doing it. 
Similarly, I had no menstrual flow for well over a year. 
Reproduction is also a luxury function my body could no longer
afford.  Does that answer your question, Your Honor?"

Ferguson looked at Dr. Parker who said, "Judge, I would grade
Kristin's answer A+.  Furthermore, speaking for the Mayo Clinic
and our medical school, we would be delighted to have access to
Kris's diary.  I believe it will extend our knowledge.  Judge,
now I think you see that I really meant what I said earlier:
Kristin Crowley is the world's foremost authority on the
mechanics of starvation.  You could accept what she has just said
as expert testimony of the highest order."

At this point Kris said, "Your Honor, before things get too
maudlin I would like to move ahead.  However, Mr. Miller helped
me establish r point I was coming to: With respect to my
appearance today, I supplied the skin and bones.  Others provided
everything else... most particularly my will to live."

She smiled and said, "I have a bit of a problem now, Your Honor,
that perhaps you could help me with.  Is it possible to swear in
two witnesses at once?  You see, I would like to call Cathy and
Ken Bradley together for reasons that I think will soon become
clear.  Together, they created today's Kristin Crowley."

Ferguson just shook his head and said, "I don't know about you,
Kris.  I _do_ know that this has already been the most remarkable
hearing I have ever had or ever heard of.  You may swear them
both."

Cathy took Kris in her arms and kissed her soundly, followed by
Ken.  He whispered, "You're doing great, little sister!  Keep it
up."

After they were sworn and were sitting together in the witness
box, and after the preliminaries had been completed, Kris asked
them, "How long had you two been married before you met me?" 
Cathy replied that it had been less than twenty-four hours.

"When did you first have sexual intercourse, Cathy?" Kris asked
innocently.

"The night before, with my husband, Ken.  He took my virginity
with my joy and gratitude that I had it to give to him," Cathy
replied softly, blushing as she answered.

Turning to Ken, Kris asked a similar question, "When did you
first have sexual intercourse?"

"The night before, with my virginal wife," he replied softly.

"In spite of having the first sexual experience of your life the
night before -- unlike so many young people who only get married
after living together for years -- why on earth did you invite a
twerp who was literally nothing but skin and bones to stay with
you on your honeymoon?  You were just getting to know each
other's bodies.  I can testify that if I were a man I could spend
months exploring every square inch of Cathy's beauty... and
would!  Moreover, I can testify that you're both incredibly
passionate and desperately in love with each other.  Why did you
ask me to stay with you?  And whose idea was it, anyway?"

Before either could respond, Kris turned to the judge and said,
"Your Honor, there are several reasons for this very personal
line of questioning.  First, I want to introduce the people I
have been living with.  Please also keep in mind that it is the
parents of these two who propose to adopt me.  I believe that
those parents must have been materially responsible for the way
their children developed and the attitudes they display.  I
intend to show that in Ken and Cathy Bradley we have two people
who are each extraordinary individuals.  But far more that, we
have two people whose capacity for love is so great that they
could share so much of theirs with a dying girl at a time when
they were preoccupied with merging two magnificent bodies to
create a new life.

"I don't believe there is a time when two people's attentions are
more concentrated on their mate to the exclusion of everything
else than on their honeymoon.  Notwithstanding, these two shared
their bountiful love with me.  Please keep in mind that if you
approve my adoption, they will be my brother and sister.  I think
you'll see why I want this adoption to happen so desperately!" 
Turning back to Cathy she repeated, "Cath, whose idea was it to
invite me?"

Cathy thought for a moment and then replied, "It was both of
ours!"

"Cathy!..." Kris said, stretching out her name.  "Remember,
you're under oath."

Cathy glared daggers at Kris but then murmured, "Mine."

"I beg your pardon, Cathy, but I didn't hear your response."

"It was mine!" she exclaimed.  Turning toward the judge she
asked, "Your Honor, what constitutes justifiable homicide?  There
is a married sister who is planning to kill her fourteen-year-old
sibling who is being nasty, nosy, and just plain mean.  I think I
need some legal advice."

Judge Ferguson raised both hands in protest.  "Keep me out of
this, young lady!  In answer to your question, though, older
sisters have been threatening to murder younger sisters since the
dawn of time."

Then he looked thoughtful and said, "As a matter of fact, my
older daughter usually says that death is an inadequate
punishment for her brat sister... her words.  She's been trying
to come up with something worse than death which might be more
suitable."  Then he grinned and just shook his head.  Meanwhile,
Pamela Castle was horrified at both Cathy's question and the
judge's response.  She began whispering feverishly to the
attorneys.

Kris, meanwhile, had returned to her line of questioning. 
"Cathy, why did you lie and tell me that you and Ken had talked
about inviting me earlier.  You hadn't mentioned a word to him. 
Weren't you afraid of what he might say?"

"Kristin Bradley, I hate you!" Cathy exclaimed.  "The fact is I
was scared to death.  I could see my marriage to Ken not lasting
long enough even to reach the one-day mark."

"Then why did you do it?" Kris insisted.

"Because I thought it might save your life.  In you, Kris, I saw
a girl who was nothing but skin and bones, but also a girl with
fire burning behind her purple eyes."  Then she grinned at her
sister, shook her head, and said, "Purple eyes, yet!  What
ridiculous coloring.  And in view of your behavior this morning,
can we still throw you back?"  Kris very politely stuck out her
tongue and grinned back.  "Anyway, I saw that spark of life.  I
was determined to fan it back into a flame."

"What did Dr. Parker say when you asked him about me seeing you
making love with Ken?"

"He said it couldn't hurt and might help..."  She stopped and
glared daggers at her sister and said, "How did you know that,
brat?  You couldn't have!"

Kris shrugged and said, "Good guess."  Then she turned to
Ferguson and said, "That's a lie, Judge.  I knew she must have
had such a conversation because that's the kind of person she is.
 She would be primarily concerned about avoiding anything that
could possibly hurt me, regardless of what it might mean to her,
to Ken, or to their honeymoon.  Your Honor, what can you say
about a person like this?"

Turning back to Cathy she was about to ask another question when
Pamela Castle rose to her feet screaming, "Do you mean to say you
saw these two people having... having _sexual intercourse?"_

"No, Miss Castle.  I did not.  I saw them on numerous occasions
making passionate love to each other.  In fact, it would be more
accurate to say I saw them worshiping each other's body.  It was
the most beautiful sight I've ever seen in my life.  You see,
Miss Castle, my sister is, with the possible exception of my
mother, the most beautifully put-together female on the face of
the earth.  She has a body that any man would cheerfully kill
for.  On the other hand, my brother, Ken, is built like a Greek
god, only better.  When you see two people like that, each with a
golden body, making love, it's the most beautiful sight
imaginable.  Add to that the fact that each was a virgin before
their wedding.  Whatever they did, it was the first time for both
of them.  There was so much joy and happiness created by them
that if that joy had been a liquid, I would have drowned within
the first twenty-four hours.  Does that answer your question?"

With a cry of victory, Castle rushed to the Judge's bench and
exclaimed, "She has proven my case, Your Honor!  Clearly, you
could not possibly approve the adoption of this innocent young
girl into such a licentious household!  It would be criminally
immoral.  I shudder to think what it might do to this girl's
emotional development!"

"I don't, Miss Castle," Judge Ferguson replied dryly.  Then he
glanced at his watch and said, "I heard what everyone else in
this courtroom heard and what I have been able to confirm with my
own eyes.  Mrs. Bradley is an incredible beauty and Mr. Bradley
appears to be quite handsome.  You can decide for yourself.  What
did we learn?  That two young people were so pure they both came
as virgins to their wedding night.  Frankly, although I thought
such behavior went out with the bustle, it assuredly is not
licentious behavior.  Expressed differently, Mr. Bradley made
love to Mrs. Bradley and Mrs. Bradley returned his love within
the bonds of matrimony.  I cannot see any interpretation of
statute or case law which could do anything other than laud such
behavior and wish it were far more common in our society than it
is today!

"I learned something else.  I learned the extent to which the
three young people love each other... particularly including Mrs.
Bradley's threats against her younger sister."  Turning to Kris
he said, "A word of warning, young lady.  You had better be very
careful around your sister if there should be a paddle around. 
Otherwise you'll have a very sore bottom!"

"I will, Judge, for sure," Kris replied.  then she explained,
"Have a very sore bottom, that is, not be careful.  The fact is,
I deserve it!  I've been thoroughly obnoxious and if she really
spanked me hard I think I would feel better about what I did to
her, and I know she'll feel better, too."

Ferguson shook his head and then Ken spoke up.  "Your Honor, my
wife and I were both sworn, but she's the one who answered all
the questions.  I would like to say a few words about Kristin
Crowley.  First, it's true that my wife didn't ask me about
inviting Kris before her invitation was extended.  However, it's
also true that my wife and I think alike... to the point of
sometimes making the identical comment on an event or situation
in unison.

"But, Your Honor, I want to talk about Kris.  It's been
established that she's brilliant.  During the last four months
the three of us have read, dissected, and debated at least half
of the world's great books.  We all learned.  Your Honor, I was
elected to Phi Beta Kappa at Yale University in my junior year,
and was a Baker Scholar at the Harvard Business School.  My wife
was Phi Beta Kappa and valedictorian of her class at Carleton
College.  I'm not bragging.  I say it only to show that neither
my wife nor I are mental midgets.  Yet this girl has extended our
intellectual horizons dramatically.  We think we've helped her a
bit, too.  She's now an outstanding golfer, tennis player, and
swimmer.  If there's a musical instrument she can't play with
virtuosity, we haven't found it yet.

"But at the same time, she's an impish hoyden!"  He grinned at
the judge and shook his head.  "You have learned how smart she
is.  Can you imagine the deviltry she can concoct when she puts
her mind to it?  She has the merriest laugh and the cutest giggle
I've ever heard.  She made our honeymoon an incredible delight
with her fun.  You know, it was odd.  She would do things and
then laugh, but inevitably they were things that Cathy and I had
great fun with but would never have thought of, let alone done,
on our own.

"You warned her about staying clear of Cathy if there's a paddle
within her reach.  Do you know what's going to happen tonight? 
Kris will come to Cathy with a paddle in her hand, give it to
her, bare her bottom, and lie across Cathy's lap.  Honest she
will.  Cathy will drop the paddle, spank her a couple of times on
her bare bottom, and then kiss her.  Kris will give her the
warmest kiss imaginable with tears rolling down her cheeks and
apologize again for being a brat."

He grinned and added, "You notice, Judge, I said 'apologize,' I
most assuredly did not add that there would be any promise from
her not to do it again.  You could beat this girl bloody but you
could not extract such a promise from her.  Why not?  Because she
delivers on her promises and will not make one she can't keep...
or in this case, has no intention of keeping.  The funny think is
that all of the things this girl thought up resulted in
increasing our love for each other.  And, Your Honor, that was
from a level neither of us believed could possibly go any higher.
 Yet that's what this girl does!"  He shook his head and said,
"Judge, how can you possibly get mad -- let alone stay mad -- at
a girl like this?"

Ferguson just shook his head but smiled very warmly.  Then he
said, "Are Evangeline Pierce Collins and Edgar Warren Bradley
present in the courtroom?  If so, please come forward."

Vangie and Ed went up to the bench hand.  Ferguson looked at them
and then looked at the other girls.  He asked, "Cathy, would you
and your sister please stand beside your mother?"  The girls did,
looking puzzled.  Ken stood beside his father.

Ferguson said, "If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it.
 Mrs. Collins, you appear to be about twenty-five, your daughter,
Cathy, appears to be about twenty-one, and Kris looks to be
nineteen.  The fact is you look like sisters who are very close
both genetically and in age.

"Mrs. Pierce, earlier today we learned about your gift of one
million dollars to A Child's Last Wish, as well as your pledge to
them of an annual gift of one million dollars per year or more. 
Can I take that as an indication that you will have no
substantial problem paying to feed and clothe this young lady? 
Possibly even paying for her education if costs don't continue to
rise so fast?"

Vangie grinned and nodded her head quickly.  "Your Honor, as long
as she can make do with hand-me-downs and some reworked flour
sacks, I think we can make it," she replied with a grin.

"Mrs. Collins, do you wish to adopt Kristin Elizabeth Crowley as
your daughter?"

"More than anything in the world, Your Honor!  Absolutely yes!"
she exclaimed.

"Mr. Bradley, we haven't had a chance to hear from you today.  Do
you wish to adopt Kristin as your daughter?"

"Your Honor," Ed began, "unlike my wife, I've never had a
daughter to raise before.  In the last six days this young woman
has turned my life upside down.  You heard my son: She's a source
of endless delights.  We know how brilliant she is.  The
extraordinary factor, though, is she seems to be unique.  She's
the only genius I've ever heard of who focuses her mind on
thinking of ways to make others happy.  More than that, Your
Honor, she has a near-infinite capacity for giving love.  She's
the most loving person I can imagine.  I can't tell you what it's
like to have a young woman like this with her arms around me
saying, 'I love you, Daddy!'  It's utterly marvelous!"

"Mr. Bradley," Ferguson replied, "I have two daughters of my own,
about the ages of your two.  I _do_ know, and I agree!"  Looking
up, he spoke loudly, "The adoption of Kristin Elizabeth Crowley
by Evangeline Pierce Collins and Edgar Warren Bradley is
approved!"  He picked up his pen and signed the papers.  Then he
said, "Mr. Bradley and Mrs. Collins, very best wishes on the
occasion of your wedding tomorrow.  I'm sure you'll be very happy
together.  And I'm also certain that Kris will be a substantial
element contributing to your future happiness!"

Just then Pamela Castle rose and said, "Your Honor, the
Department of Human Services will file an appeal against your
adoption order.  We intend immediately to ask for a stay of your
order pending the hearing on our formal appeal.  We intend to
retain custody of Miss Crowley until the appeal has been
decided!"  Then standing up straight in what she thought was a
professional manner -- she appeared rather ridiculous with spots
on her dress from her earlier vomiting -- she added, "This has
been the most ridiculous hearing of its type I've ever seen in my
entire professional career!"

"I certainly agree with your last statement, Miss Castle!" a man
in the rear said in a voice that carried to the corners of the
courtroom.  He made his way down the courtroom aisle to the trial
area.  "Judge Ferguson, let me introduce myself.  I am Charles
Carter, the Commissioner of Human Services of the State of
Illinois.  My department most assuredly _will not_ appeal your
order!"

Wheeling on Castle he said, "This has to have been the most
egregious example of bureaucracy run amok in the history of this
state!  Miss Castle, _what do you use for brains?_

"I have been watching this hearing.  I believe I have seen what
the judge has seen: possibly the finest family it has ever been
my good fortune to observe in action.  It's not terribly
relevant, I suppose, but it is also the richest.  You haven't
gotten around to checking yet, Miss Castle, but they have a
combined net worth of nearly two _billion_ dollars!  That's wih a
'B'!  Yet the love, mutual respect, and, yes -- teasing -- is
incredible."  Addressing the court he said, "Your Honor, based on
what I've seen this morning, I'm certain that my department is
not part of the solution regarding adopted children.  Indeed,
there is strong evidence -- which will be investigated in depth
beginning immediately -- that we are a major part of the problem,
if not the whole of it!

"It seems to me that adoption should be a simple process.  Can
the family provide adequately for the child?  Do they want the
child?  Possibly, do they love the child?  That's all.  Instead
we apparently have an incredibly time-consuming and money-wasting
operation with people such as Miss Castle trying to play God and
trying to foresee everything that could possibly happen in the
child's future life.

"But it's worse than that!  You see, there seems to be an
unexamined underlying assumption here: The State can better
provide for a child in State facilities than all but the very
finest families could provide in their homes.  This is arrant
nonsense, yet it seems to govern the operation of this unit in my
department.  Appealing the adoption of Kristin Crowley by the
Bradleys has to be on the far side of sheer insanity!  This has
been a departmental disgrace, Your Honor, and I ask you please to
accept my apology."

Castle slumped in her chair at the counsel table like a deflated
balloon.  Meanwhile, a flood of well-wishers were congratulating
the Bradleys led by Janice who hugged Vangie.  Finally, Vangie
reached Kris through the crowd.  She took the girl into her arms
and said, "Oh, God, I love you, my darling daughter!  There are
no words to thank Him for giving you to me!"

"Mother, I love you so much!" Kris exclaimed.  Then she looked at
her watch and said, "Let's get out of this hole!  There's a lot
of work to do before your wedding tomorrow."

That night the Bradleys were all gathered in the Stewart's family
room watching a short television news clip reporting on Kris's
adoption.  It seemed to have focused media attention on the point
Commissioner Carter had been making -- the unexamined assumption
regarding the relative desirability of a child's being raised in
a state institution rather than in a home and family setting. 
When the clip ended, Kris unobtrusively left the room.  A few
minutes later she returned.  But now she was nude and carrying
the paddle Jan and Maureen had used so painfully on Vangie. 
Bringing it to her sister she said, "Sister Catherine, would you
give me my punishment now, please?  Would you prefer me to be
over your lap, on my knees, or standing bent over?"

"Bend over, Kristin," Cathy replied impassively taking the paddle
from her.  Kris did, taking care that her ass was in easy reach
of Cathy's hand.  Cathy stroked the girl's bottom and called Ken
over.  "Darling," she said, "Have you ever seen such a lovely
virginal ass?  I realized that when we met her she had no
buttocks -- they were long gone -- so we made these.  I sort of
like them, don't you?"

Running his fingers lightly over Kris's bottom caused her to
wriggle on Cathy's lap from Ken's sensuous touch.  "Since we made
them, Ken," Cathy continued, "even though her parents spanked her
-- and given her behavior, I'm sure it was often -- it wasn't
these buttocks they spanked.  It was her old ones.  Would you
like to break in the new ones or should I?  How about if you take
one and I take the other?"

While trying to look sad, Ken shook his head.  Kris, still bent
over Cathy's lap, was puzzled.  "I think she's a masochist,
Honey.  Just look at her: She's much too eager.  I have a much
better idea!"  With that he picked her up from Cathy's lap and
lay her flat on her back on the carpet.  Then he began to tickle
her ribs while straddling her legs.  Cathy yipped with glee,
pinned down Kris's arms with her knees, and joined in.  The two
worked carefully to inflict the greatest possible torment on the
girl.  In no time Kris, who had almost instantly started to
struggle but was unable to overcome the combined strength of her
older siblings, was crying and screaming for mercy as her torso
jerked around trying to evade the torment.

Finally she screamed, "Stop!  Oh please, stop!  I'll do anything
if you just stop!"

The two stopped and sat up.  Ken looked down at her and saw again
what a beauty she was.  "You'll never tease Cathy or me again,
brat.  Promise?"

Kris behaved exactly the way Ken had predicted to the judge. 
"Cathy, I'm sorry for embarrassing you in court today.  But I
won't promise not to do it again."  She grinned and arched her
neck to be able to see Cathy's face above her, "I can't because
it's too much fun!"  Then she relaxed and said, "I guess you two
will just have to tickle me to death."

Instead they got off her and Ken helped her up.  She went to
Cathy, kissed her softly, and said, "You do know I love you,
don't you, Cath?"  Her sister returned the kiss and just hugged
the girl tightly.  Then she went to Ken who took her in his arms
and squeezed.  Looking up at him she said, "Cathy is so lucky,
Ken!  To have you to hold her like this...  She's the luckiest
girl in the world!"  She kissed him and asked, "Are you really
mad at me?"

"How could I possibly be, Kris?  You're a delight," he replied. 
As she turned away he gave her ass one hard spank.  Kris rubbed
her bottom, winked, and then said he was probably right.  She
really liked it, so she must be a masochist.

To be continued...

* * *

Comments and constructive criticism are sincerely welcome.  Let
me hear from you.  morg105829@aol.com

*Cynthia Martin* Copyright (c) 1991, 2001 by Morgan. 
<morg105829@aol.com>

All rights reserved.  No part may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any electronic means, including photocopying,
recording or by any information and retrieval system, without the
written permission of the author. <1st attachment end>


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