Message-ID: <19864eli$9902110939@qz.little-neck.ny.us> X-Archived-At: From: deanajohns@hotmail.com (Deana Johns) Subject: *Savant P13 (FF,Mf sed, voy FFfFfFff) Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d Reply-To: deanajohns@hotmail.com Path: qz!not-for-mail Organization: The Committee To Thwart Spam Approved: X-Moderator-Contact: Eli the Bearded X-Story-Submission: X-Original-Message-ID: <36c2446f.44413014@burgoyne.com> =================================================== Savant: By Deana Johns. Copyright 1997 All rights reserved. Limited permission to post is granted providing this header remains intact. May not be posted to any pay sites. May be offered as part of a collection, also provided this header remains intact. Permission to archive is also granted. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This is one of my later stories. As of now, it is incomplete but already long. If you are seeking quick, cheap smut, you may wish to look elsewhere. But I think the true connoisseurs of erotica will find it plenty steamy if they give it a chance. This is an adult story, if you shouldn't be reading it, don't. I trust this is sufficient warning, given that I am posting this to a predominantly adult area to begin with. As always, comments are desired, welcome, and helpful. I especially like to hear from other women. Please reply to: deanajohns@hotmail.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Savant Part 13 "Maybe later. Given the choice.... I'll go for the kissing and a nap. Let me set the timer on the stove." Cindy replied, doing it. "I do believe that girl loves you." Betty chuckled, cupping Andrea's breasts from behind. "From the look on her face, I do believe that girl loves you too." Denise chuckled, pulling Cindy into her arms to start the kissing. "See you two at dinner." Andrea said, leading Betty toward the hot tub. ------------------------------- Denise's fingers traveled randomly over Cindy's soft and tender young skin. They were still kissing. Investigating seemingly endless combinations of tongue swirls and lip entanglement. Both were flushed with desire. Their hands hadn't been dormant while their mouths were so engaged. Both had climaxed many times under the others touch. Not breaking their kiss as they orgasmed, rather the passionate moans escaped from between their almost hungry lips. At present they were kissing very softly. Their lips just barely touching and sliding around. This complimented the light touch of Denise's fingers upon Cindy's skin. One hand seemed to discover one of Cindy's nipples and the fingers played teasingly around the end. Cindy moaned softly in response. Her own fingers mirroring Denise's actions, thrilling in the feel of her loves skin under her touch. "I shall love you forever." Cindy pronounced, finally breaking the kiss a moment, but returning to it immediately. They had hardly stopped kissing long enough to change positions in the past almost two hours. Now Denise pulled back to answer her. There was love and tenderness in her eyes as she spoke. "Suits me just fine as that matches my schedule for loving you." she said, then returned to kissing. "Would I be a bad girl if I had my dessert before dinner? I wish to taste your womanhood upon my lips." Cindy said, breathlessly. "Oh... I don't think it would spoil your dinner. I promise not to tell your mother." Denise chuckled, sliding a finger between Cindy's labia and teasing her there once more. "How about my father?" Cindy chuckled, mirroring her actions. "I think he has his own. Kiss me long and deep and I'll shift around so we can both have some dessert." Denise replied. ------------------------------------ Sam indeed did have his own, which at that very moment he was abandon to. Marge cried out in her ninth orgasm of the day and still he kept going. He didn't let up until she had two more. Then gasping for breath and blissfully fulfilled she fell off to the side. She crawled around to taste herself upon his lips in a deep kiss. The flavor again triggered other thoughts in her mind. As close and intimate as her and Sam had gotten lately, she still felt other desires. Fully half the orgasms she had experienced other tongues were on her mind. "Mmmm That fifty-six Chevy has a turbocharged engine and solid gold rims." she purred between kisses. "You know what they say about old classics. They just keep gaining in value. Think you'll hang onto this one?" Sam chuckled, tenderly caressing her body. "Oh... I intend to drive it till it drops." Marge chuckled. "Which may be soon, the way we've been going. Good thing I had my heart checked before this vacation." Sam chuckled. "You've given every indication that your cardio-vascular system is in excellent shape. I don't think you were this frisky when we first got together." Marge chuckled. "You were a bit less skilled then in your persuasion. I was certainly as hungry." Sam chuckled. "I guess I have been inspired...... Wonder how our girl is doing?" Marge said, unaware of the revelatory nature of her statement. Sam chuckled. "Knowing her other loves. She's probably speechless, as frisky as a puppy and contentedly purring like a pussy cat." he said. Marge snuggled into the crook of his shoulder. Reveling in the feel of his finger tips on her breasts. "I really don't doubt that for an instant. But this was going to be a working holiday for them. She knows we'll let her live with Denise and Betty as soon as her room is completed. We would let her now, but Denise -in her wisdom- has deemed the end of the school year as the proper time for her to move in. I think though, that Cindy will try to talk her -and us- into letting her move in as soon as her room is done." Marge said. "Work or no, I don't doubt that there is plenty of loving going on. I suspect that Denise is as talented at loving as she is at everything else. She's undoubtedly an A-grade lap licker." Sam said. "Lap licker?" Marge chuckled. "A term they use at work when they talk about lesbians. I thought it quite descriptive, without being derogatory." Sam said. "Yes, I like it... both as a term and as a recipient. How often do they talk about lesbians at work?" Marge asked. "Not very often. One of the salesmen was talking about one last week. He had the hots for a receptionist at one of the companies on his route. But he said she wasn't interested in him because she was a lap-licker." "And what did you say?" Marge asked. "I told him that if he really liked her, that he should try anyway. That he might just get a bonus out of the deal." Sam said. "And what did he say to that?" Marge asked. "He looked at me like I was crazy. I told him it was his loss if he had that bias." Sam said. "Careful, my love. Not everybody in the world is as understanding as you are. It's only been a couple of months since you had to come to terms with it yourself. Even I kept my previous involvement secret from you all these years until I saw how you dealt with Cindy's inclinations." Marge said. "You were maybe wise in that. I don't know how I would have handled it when I was her age." Sam said. "And how do you feel about it now?" Marge asked. "About you? Still having desires in that area? I think it's just fine. In fact; I'm thrilled to death about it. It's introduced a new level of passion into our life. And besides, I could hardly be offended that you share the same desires as I do. Denise affects me just as strongly as she does you." Sam said. "I doubt you share *all* my desires." Marge said, distantly. A bit uncomfortable. "I think you'd be wrong about that..... I think I know what you are referring to. In the past few days you've murmured our daughters name at some very interesting times." Sam said. Marge snuggled to him tightly. Uncomfortable with the subject. "I can't help it... I don't know what's wrong with me... I guess when Denise stirred up my desires..... I've pictured them together..... Pictured myself..... in ether's place." she said, uncomfortably. "Actually.... so have I.... I think it's natural enough. The desire I mean. Cindy's a hot little number. She's got one tight, firm little body. She's cute as hell. Whenever Denise is around she literally oozes sex. I think that would affect anybody who was honest with themselves. There's an old quote... I think it was Huxley who said it: '*The whole truth about any of us, would shock the rest of us.'* I think that's probably very true. I think it's perfectly natural for anybody to be feel physically desire for an attractive body. The difference is that adults have been trained all these years that they can't pursue those desires if the body happens to belong to their children. I think in some cases, the taboo is unquestioned. It's so strong that many will have that desire buried so deep they never acknowledge it. Myself -to you- I see no harm in acknowledging it. I know we love Cindy enough we never *could* do anything we thought would be harmful to her." Sam said. "So you feel the same way I do? You desire your daughter?" Marge asked. "Yes.... You remember how hard I was after they left that night... When they came over in their formal dresses?" Sam asked. "I could hardly forget that. It was one of our most memorable sessions ever. I was quite inspired myself as I recall." Marge chuckled. "Well.... Part of that reaction was to our daughter. I *feel* it well enough, I just can't do anything about it." Sam said. "I don't know that that is true." Marge said, absently. "I beg your pardon?" Sam asked. "I don't know that it's true that you could never do anything about it. ..... Look... Knowing about Andrea and Bobby.... I've given a lot of thought to the taboo against incest. We both know what it's based upon; Children produced from sexual intercourse between close family members reinforces recessive genes and produces birth defects. It reduces the odds against birth defects down to only one in eight. That fact was recognized many thousands of years ago... before anybody even began to understand the reproduction process. That explains the male-female side of the taboo. Homophobia explains how it got extended to a general rule. But as far as I'm concerned.... without the threat of pregnancy... it's a meaningless rule. It's a taboo without a foundation. I think -pregnancy aside- that the greatest damage that could result from incest is from the social stigma that accompanies the taboo. If it became known to the general public, they would be scandalized. They'd turn on anybody who indulged in the practice, even if there were no threat of pregnancy." Marge said. "That's true. All of it. So as I was saying; I can't do anything about it." Sam said. "And I was saying; I don't think that's necessarily true. Look, you've had a vasectomy. You had a zero sperm count at the doctors office last week. You can't impregnate anybody. So the foundation for the taboo no longer exists." Marge said. "Maybe not. But the way it could affect Cindy still exists." Sam said. "Which is why I don't think it's out of the question.... I've watched Cindy over the past few years. I've caught her looking at you a few times in a most peculiar manner. Her face flushed and her breathing a bit heavy. Her nipples erect. That girl feels desire for you. Sexual desire.... I've even caught her looking at me in that same manner a few times.... since she got together with Andrea." Marge said. "You're saying my daughter desires me sexually?" Sam asked. "Yes. Why not? Didn't you just say that you thought it was natural for anybody to feel physical desire for an attractive body? I think she desires you as much as you do her." Marge said. "You *want* me to have sex with Cindy?" Sam asked, aghast. "I'm not so sure it's a bad idea." Marge said. "I don't think it's a very good idea." Sam said, "But why don't you think it's a bad one?" Sam asked. "Because, my darling... I think our daughter should know the joy of physically loving a man. She's about to commit herself to a life of loving women without ever knowing the joy of loving a man. I think that's a mistake." Marge said. "What about Bobby?" Sam asked, pointedly. "She may or may not get together with him. What if they never get together? Knowing Denise and Betty... they would never try to induce her into a relationship with him that she didn't feel naturally. I know how she feels about you. She wants you." Marge said. "Maybe... but I still feel very uncomfortable about the concept. It scares the hell out of me in fact." Sam said. "Well.... Keep it in mind, at least. As good as Denise is for Cindy... I think she's still very fragile, emotionally. If she broaches the subject with you.... I think that a rejection could be much more devastating to her than the act ever could be. So... All I'm saying is.... I guess I'm saying that *I* would not object to you two having a sexual relationship.. if it was her idea. Perhaps I'm just rationalizing my own feelings... I don't know. I do know this; That we both love her very deeply. We've both admitted to each other that we desire her. She's shown signs she desires us. If she approaches us -or one of us- about it.... I don't think we should reject her. I think it would do more damage than saying yes. But.... I also don't think it should become a regular occurrence. If she asks, then we indulge her, but on the basis that it's to satisfy her curiosity and latent desire, not as an ongoing thing." Marge said. "Alright... But only if she brings it up. I have no intention of ever broaching the subject with her." Sam said. "Good. I agree to the same....... " Marge said, leaving something unsaid. "Alright.... what else?" Sam asked, knowing his wife. "Denise.... I talked to her after you told me it was okay. I asked her to consider making love with me, sometime in the future after things have settled down a bit." Marge said. "Yes, I figured you had. So what about it?" Sam prompted. "If she's agreeable... I want *you* there when it happens." Marge said. "I told you that wasn't necessary." Sam said. "I know you did. I know I said I'd take the garden shears to you if you touched her. That was very unfair of me. Fact is that you feel the very same desire for her that I do. So why would it be okay for me to indulge myself, but not you?" Marge asked. "Because.... I'm a man." Sam said. "Yes you are, my darling. And a fine hunk specimen if I do say so myself. But any valid foundation for my objecting to a relationship between you two vanished with your vasectomy. You can't get her pregnant. There is no difference at all between you having sexual relations with her and my having sexual relations with her. Besides pregnancy, jealousy was the only valid opposition to either. I wish to avoid that. Neither of us could hardly be jealous of the other if we both indulge ourselves at the same time. In fact, it's the only way we can insure that it won't ever be a factor. So I want you there. I know you desire her. You know I desire her. So if she's agreeable... lets do it together. You can hardly try to tell me that the idea of two women in bed with you at once doesn't appeal to you. I know you better than that." Marge chuckled. "Alright..... Anything else? You don't have the hots for the milkman or something?" Sam teased. "No... One, we don't have a milkman and two, I don't think you have any desire to share a man between us. I don't have any desire for any other man than you. You have proven to be most satisfactory sexually. I would be absolutely silly to introduce *that* instability." Marge said. "How is that any different than me desiring Denise? Or ..... Cindy?" Sam said, uncomfortably. "Because, my love. We both desire them. And neither one of them will *ever* be a replacement for either of us in the others life. We both know that. Indulging ourselves with either one would only strengthen existing relationships, not interfere with them." Marge said. "Alright.... I agree. If Denise is agreeable... Then we both share her. Now how about that food you mentioned earlier? It's my turn to cook, I think. Why don't you build us a fire while I rustle us up some grub?" Sam suggested. "Oh no. You won't trick *me* like that. Fire starting is men's work, cooking is women's. I'm just old fashioned enough to like that division of labor. I'll cook." Marge chuckled. "Don't let the libbers hear you talk like that." Sam teased. "Haven't you figured out the end goal of women's lib? You get all the work, we get all the benefits. A worthy goal, I think. No... fact is that I hate getting dirty. I'm wise enough to realize the benefits of traditional male-female roles. You've never tried to mold me into any role. If you had, then we would have had a few more spats, I'm sure. But you've always been supportive in anything I wished to do or try. You are still that way. I see no advantage in changing things now." Marge said, kissing him and then rolling off the bed and donning one of his shirts as a robe to stave the chill. "I don't know why women seem to like men's shirts as robes. I find my shirts in Cindy's room all the time." Sam said. "For one reason, we look sexy in them. The other reason is your aroma... it makes us hot for you. There are chemical messengers men's bodies emit which get us absolutely dripping. I think they are called pheromones. Finding your shirts in Cindy's room just supports my theory that she desires you sexually." Marge said, sniffing at the sleeve and smiling. "You really think she desires to have sex with me?" Sam asked, still obviously uncomfortable about it. "Maybe she hasn't thought about it consciously... But yes, she desires you very much. And not just the crush that almost ever daughter gets for her father." Marge said, making her way out of the cabin bedroom. Sam watched her retreat. She *did* look very sexy in his shirt. He thought about the times he'd seen Cindy wearing one of his shirts..... *She* looked very sexy in them too. He pulled his pants on to partially hide his reaction to the thought. His own word and Marge's reassurance or not. He didn't feel comfortable feeling those feelings about his daughter. He made his way into the other room and stirred the fire, then added more wood. After a bit the still hot coals ignited the new wood and a cozy little fire was blazing along. He pulled the screen into position and joined Marge in the kitchen area. Outside it was a winter wonderland. Snow carpeted the landscape for as far as the eye could see. An indoor-outdoor thermometer indicated an outside temperature of just below freezing, even though the sun was out. At night it had been dropping into the teens or below. Just the sight of the thermometer made the fire seem somehow cozier. Even though the electric heat was sufficient to keep the place quite comfortable. He washed his hands in the kitchen sink and then dried them on a towel. He turned to see Marge bending into the refrigerator. Instinctively he ran his hand over her exposed posterior. Marge giggled in response, but didn't resist. Sam continued his explorations of the area even after she stood up. She set her selections on the counter and turned to face him. She moved against him and kissed him deeply. "I thought you were hungry for food." she chucked, once they let up. "I am..... I was just admiring the way my own American classic was holding up with the years. You have always had an A-grade posterior yourself. It still compels me to want to touch it." he said, cupping it as he spoke. She snuggled against him a moment, blissfully content and in love. Finally she kissed him again and then pulled away. "You sit down there and just admire it then. I'll put on something that will take some time to cook and then I'm sure we can think of something to pass the time while it cooks. Perhaps something involving that lump in your pants." Marge demurred, pushing him back into a chair. She felt his eyes upon her as she again turned to prepare their meal. She felt like the sexiest woman on earth. --------------------------------------------- "I think that's the buzzer on the stove." Cindy gasped, her face between Denise's thighs and her chin slick with her juices. A moment later the sound stopped suddenly. "Sounds like one of our other loves got it." Denise gasped back. "Good, I'm not finished with this meal yet." Cindy gasped. "Neither am I." Denise gasped in response. Once again she peeled back Cindy's labia with her fingers and peered into her womanhood. Once again the sight compelled her back to imbibe in the flavor she had come to love. She bent her head and pushed her tongue deeply into Cindy's vaginal opening, feeling the young woman do the same to her. Both blatantly aware of every square centimeter of their full body contact. Denise pulled Cindy's hips hard down onto her face and abandon herself to the moment. She swirled her tongue around as she inhaled deeply, saturating her senses once more on Cindy's ambrosia. She felt drunk on the young woman's juices. Cindy felt exactly the same as a result of hers. It didn't take too much longer before they were both bucking and moaning in the throws of a massive mutual orgasm. Afterwards they both continued to lap at each other, but now to slow the retreat rather than to excite. Their hands tenderly caressed each others bodies as they cooled down. Finally Cindy rolled off to the side and reversed herself. Again they kissed deeply, sharing the flavor of the other on their tongues. Slowly the kisses became more shallow and the caresses softer. Eventually they were just laying side by side gazing into each others eyes. Very deeply in love. "Gosh... If I didn't know it already... I'd swear that those two were in love." Andrea's voice said. "Warms the heart, doesn't it?" Betty said. "Warms just about every part of me." Andrea replied. "Lets see..... By gosh it does!" Betty said. Andrea giggled in response to the probe, but was powerless to resist it. Not that she had any inclination to try. Betty was standing behind her, her arms wrapped around her with her fingers probing through the gap in her robe and between her legs when Denise looked up. Andrea's hair was still wet. "Of course her just stepping out of the hot tub has no affect upon the temperature of her body there." Denise chuckled, still breathing hard. "Not a bit. We got out quite a while ago. We've been sort of.... well *practicing,* like you two have." Betty said. "Yes, practicing up for our honeymoon." Andrea giggled, then moaned softly as Betty hadn't stopped her probing. "Mmmm that looks just as tasty as the one I just tasted." Cindy gasped. "Lets see." Betty said, breaking off her attack on Andrea. She moved to Cindy and kissed her deeply, then moved one of her fingers to her mouth in comparison. Cindy caught her other hand and pulled it to her mouth, sucking hungrily at her fingers. "I do believe you are right." Betty chuckled. "Yup! Different... but wonderful. I think I'll have some of that after dinner." Cindy said. "Speaking of which, it's ready." Andrea said, bending to kiss Denise deeply. "Mmmm wooeeee! I know what you two have been doing. I'd recognize that bouquet anywhere." she chuckled, going for some more. "What say we make it a foursome after dinner? I get the impression we are all hot for more dessert." Betty suggested. "I do love the way that woman thinks... How'd you like to get married?" Denise asked. "Yes." Betty said without hesitation. She shifted her focus from Cindy's lips to Denise's in response to the offer. "Mmm. It's been a while since we did the square. I also get the feeling we are all hot for it. I think it's a cunilingus night." Denise said. "Mmm I like the way you think too. But get up. Or none of us will get dinner before it's cold. It would be a shame to waste that wonderful casserole that Cindy made." Betty said, moving out of range. Denise and Cindy rolled to their feet. Somehow it just seemed an invitation to kiss in a different position. They shared another deep kiss and embrace with each other before they slipped on their robes and followed Betty and Andrea into the kitchen. The dinner was good. The dessert afterwards was excellent. The square always guaranteed at least six orgasms apiece. At least two per person per configuration. Everybody slept well afterwards. Indeed, that was why they didn't square up very often. It was almost always mutually devastating. But that night it seemed just perfect. Somehow they each found the strength to crawl up into their regular sleeping order. This had evolved into Andrea, Betty, Denise and Cindy looking across the bed from left to right. Denise and Betty snuggled together face to face and the girls spooned themselves to their backsides. In this configuration everybody slept all the way through the night. But had they noticed, they all would have anyway now, as long as one of the others was in their arms. They would discover this in time to come. For now they all slept blissfully content in each others arms. Chapter Twenty-Four Cindy was at the stove cooking when Denise padded softly up behind her, wrapped her arms around her and kissed her softly on the neck. "Mmm Good morning. I was expecting you to sleep longer." Cindy said, snuggling back into her. "Mmm Good morning to you, my love. I just came down to find a little something to nibble on." Denise said, softly nibbling on Cindy's neck with her lips and playing her tongue up behind her ear. Cindy giggled but didn't shy away. Instead she stirred the sausages once more, then turned down the heat and covered the pan. She then set down the spatula and let her hand snake backwards and over Denise's thigh. "I would have thought you might have had your fill of me last night. Seemed like you spent a major portion of the evening with your face buried in my pussy." Cindy said, turning in her arms. Denise's lips never lost contact with her neck and shoulder except briefly while they searched for a new patch to nibble on. "Mmmm it was wonderful. I shall never have my fill of you. What say we take the whole day off and do just that?" Denise offered, keeping up her attack. Cindy caught a glance at the time. It was almost eight o-clock. Workmen would be arriving very soon. To buy time she walked them as a pair over by the French doors and closed the drapes. At least they would obscure the view from inside. Denise seemed not to notice they had moved at all. She just kept up her explorations with her lips and tongue. Cindy was powerless to resist, nor did she feel any inclination to do so. Instead she walked them back to the stove, switched it off, then found Denise's lips with her own. They kissed long and deeply before Cindy again took over and guided them into the guest room. They were barely out of sight before the first workmen appeared outside the French door. Denise caught the ties on both their robes and pulled them open. They met skin to skin, abandon in kissing each other before Denise pushed Cindy back onto the bed and moved over her. "My, you're feeling spunky this morning. To what do we attribute this attack that it couldn't wait till after breakfast?" Cindy teased, breathlessly. "I just felt like reminding you that I love you. Much, much more than mere food." Denise said, hardly missing a touch with her tongue between words. "God I love you." Cindy gasped in reply. A short while later she felt Denise's fingers snake their way inside her. Shortly after that she lifted her hips and cried out in just the first of many orgasms. Denise hardly let her catch her breath before she felt her warm tongue lapping where her fingers had been a sort time before. Cindy guided Denise's hips over her and pulled a pillow up under her head, then earnestly began her counter-attack. Abandoning herself to the older woman's ambrosia. The next time her hips raised in orgasm, her impassioned cry was harmonized by Denise's. They didn't stop until both of them were and exhausted, their hair damp from perspiration. Upstairs Betty and Andrea were matching the couple below in passion, if not in action. Andrea had come to love Betty stroking *Eunika* into *Little Snake*. They experimented with different motions and rhythms such that it never became mundane. At times they would slow to a sensual crawl. Taking seeming minutes to complete a single stroke, then they would be pumping into each other frantically. In between they kissed deeply and explored each others bodies with fingers, lips, eyes and tongue. They moved nipple to nipple, hip to hip and toe to toe. They alternated stroking their clitorises over each others with reversing themselves and delving their tongues into each others womanhood. Fingers probed each sensitive spot. Tongues lashed and whipped over the more sensitive areas. By the time they were through, they were both beyond satiation. They were both blissfully floating in a mist of endorphins. A final tender kiss before they both slipped away into the warm mist of sleep wrapped in each others embrace. The whole thing had been planed by Denise and Betty in a short conference in the bathroom the night before. Both had remarked how well both girls were doing at the construction and the hectic changes that had been happening in their lives. They had decided both girls deserved a little reward as positive feedback for their actions. The effect was not lost on the girls. Both were blissfully pleased and felt as loved as they had ever felt. It was late morning by the time they all finally stirred. They met up at the foot of the stairs after showering. Cindy grabbed Andrea and whisked her around the corner to properly greet her good morning. She pushed her back up against the wall much like Andrea used to do to her in empty classrooms. They kissed hungrily for a long time. Finally they pulled back and shared each others loving gaze. "I think I smell a conspiracy." Cindy chuckled. "Yeah... smelled great!" Andrea replied, kissing her again. "Mmmm so what do you think they were trying to tell us?" Cindy asked. "Probably that we appreciate the outstanding job that you both have been doing. That we are both very proud of you and that we have no intention of letting what we feel for you both to get lost in the shuffle." Denise's voice sounded behind them. They turned to see Denise standing behind Betty with her arms wrapped lovingly around her. Suddenly both girls had tears in their eyes. They found themselves compelled into the arms of their older loves. Once their they hung on for dear life. The older women hugged back. There wasn't any question as to who went to whom. Cindy to Denise and Andrea to Betty, but after a time they changed and hugged the other one just as sincerely. Both had tears streaming down their cheeks. The older women were not unaffected by it. "So.... What say we have some breakfast and then get to it? I think we can finish up the framing this afternoon." Denise suggested. "I will love you all forever." Andrea sobbed against her. "As will I." Cindy sobbed against Betty. "I think that's what we had in mind to show you two this morning. That we will love you both forever. Now how about breakfast." Betty said. Something had changed between them as they sat eating breakfast. There was an unspoken surety and contentment between them. Each aware of the love the others felt for them. As such they felt more relaxed and at ease. It wasn't that there was no sexual tension still between them. More it was the ease that they knew they would know it again..... and again. They did hold hands and shared comfortable eye contact with each other. They had reached a higher plateau of love than any of them had ever known before. When they finished breakfast, each bussed her dish as she finished. Each paying close attention to the state of each others plate to see if they could offer some assistance. But not worried about trying to further ingratiate the other person to secure their future together. They were one in heart. They got their tools and moved into the extension. Denise requested that Cindy pick a radio station. Cindy picked one middle ground to the varying music tastes. The women danced around laughing and joking as they got serious about building walls. They worked together as a tight team who now had the routine down. They rotated jobs. At first they worked by one measuring, one cutting and the others nailing. But it turned out that three waited while one cut. Andrea suggested a change and they tried it out. By measuring, cutting and then nailing themselves, the process picked up considerably. While one was measuring, one would already be cutting and the other two holding and nailing. The one nailing would then measure the next cut, moving the one holding as nailer for the new cut coming up. The person who just cut became the holder and the one who just measured moved to the saw. The foreman happened by and watched them doing this for a bit. Soon in awe at the rate they were working. They seemed as skilled as his best carpenters yet incredibly efficient as a team. "Would you mind ever so much if I brought a few guys in to watch you work?" he asked. The girls stopped, looked at each other and all grinned. The younger women were wearing their shorted bib outfits with just T-shirts underneath, their legs bare and shapely. Their butts definitely appealing. Betty was dressed in old running togs. Denise wearing thin, light jeans with a T-shirt. The two older women wearing carpenters bibs. The younger women just apron nail pouches. They all wore sports bras and the view of the group of them was like a carpenters wet dream. The foreman suddenly realized how it could be misinterpreted -and unknown to them- how unlikely it was to be welcome. "I fear I have given you the wrong impression. I've been watching you for a few minutes and you are more efficient than my *best* team. I'd like to bring in a couple of my lead-men to see how well it can work. If it will feel too uncomfortable for you, then that's alright. I've seen how you are doing it and I can apply that." the foreman said, blushing. The women were stunned a moment; hearing the foreman say they were more efficient than his best team. They found themselves blushing, but sharing pride full looks with each other. Finally Denise shrugged, looked to the others, who shrugged in turn. "Sure, why not. But if we catch them drooling the deals off." Betty chuckled. The foreman grinned at them. "I promise. I'll dock them triple time for drooling. They have this thing about triple time." he said. "I'll bet." Denise giggled. The foreman went away and the women all busted out laughing. "What do you think of that? More efficient than his best team? Wow! Way to go babe!" Cindy said to Andrea, digging her in the ribs lightly. "Me? What do you mean?" Andrea asked, blushing. "I think she's saying that working this was your idea. It was. We were either stumbling over each other or standing around most the time before you suggested this. Looks like you've come up with a winner. Too bad you can't patent it." Denise said. Andrea blushed even more, but didn't say anything. The foreman came back a few minutes later with his lead men. A couple of attractive young men. They were strong and trim. Perhaps their ego's collapsed a bit when the women didn't pay too much attention to them. They just kept up their labors. After the girls had built another wall, the foreman thanked the women and led his lead men away, telling them '*that was how it was done'*. After their visit, all the women seemed to be in a great mood. Somehow they got even more serious about building walls. Betty slipped out for her run with Bobby, but was back it seemed in an instant. They looked up to see what was next and realized all the interior walls were completely framed. It was also almost seven thirty in the evening. "I think this calls for another celebration. What say I pop for delivery food?" Betty offered. "Deal... as I think we are all too tired to cook." Denise said. Betty looked at her curiously, wondering why Denise wasn't arguing with her. In reply, Denise pulled her into her arms and kissed her tenderly. "I think it does call for a celebration. How about Greek?" she suggested. "That sounds good." Cindy chipped in, dropping her nail pouch and draping her arm around Andrea. "Yeah, it does." Andrea agreed, dropping her tool pouch. "So tomorrow we start on the wiring, Cindy?" Denise asked. "Sounds good." she replied, guiding Andrea inside. "And what are we doing, Betty?" Andrea asked. "Oh... I have a special treat for us. We get to start on the insulation once they finish rough wiring the outside walls. We get to get all itchy." Betty chuckled. "That sounds like fun. I'll scratch your back if you'll scratch mine." Andrea offered. "I have a better idea. I was talking to the heating contractors when they were here. I suggest you buy some disposable paper suits." Denise said. "Paper suits?" Andrea asked. "Reinforced paper jump suits. They cover you from neck to toe. Keeps the fiberglass fibers out of your clothes. If you keep a bandanna over your hair and your gloves on then it should avoid most the itches." Denise replied. "So where do I get these paper suits?" Betty asked. "At the building supply center." Denise replied, guiding her inside. Once inside, something changed between the women. They had been holding back their passions all day and the feeling of closeness had been profound. Cindy pulled Andrea into a deep kiss and Denise did the same for Betty. "Mmm I'll phone in the order if you will light us a fire." Betty said. "Deal." Denise replied. She didn't get very far before Cindy Shanghaied her and checked her tonsils. Andrea was doing the same to Betty. "Mmm that's nice." Denise said, cupping Cindy's buns as they hugged. "Mmm thank you love. What's that for?" Betty asked, hugging Andrea back. "To let you know that we appreciate all the work you've been doing. That we are very proud of you and love you very much... and we don't ever want to let that get lost in the shuffle either." Andrea said. Cindy nodded her agreement. Now it was the older women's turn to get misty eyed. "If you let me get dinner ordered, then we can continue this." Betty said, wiping her eyes. Andrea didn't get too far away from her while she was phoning. Cindy stayed close to Denise, helping her build the fire. "We really did get a lot done today." Denise mused. "All Andrea's doing with that great system she worked up. God, I was floored when the foreman said we were more efficient than his best team." Cindy said. "The system was a great idea, I agree. But I think it was something more that made us all work like that." Denise said. "I know." Cindy said, quietly, thinking how the day had begun. Over dinner they talked about the construction. "I didn't see the plumbers today, either. Weren't they due here on Wednesday?" Andrea remarked. "I called them yesterday morning to tell them to reschedule for next Monday. I knew we wouldn't have the walls up yesterday. I don't know why I booked them when I did, cause we've been making great progress and we only finished roughing the walls today." Betty said. "Yes, we have been making great progress. If we'd had Andrea's system on Monday then we might have had them done Wednesday." Denise said, kissing Andrea's cheek affectionately. "So... have you thought about what you'd like us to serve the Billings for dinner tomorrow?" she asked. "I was thinking about your egg rolls and sauce." Betty said. "Not my sauce, Cindy's. She saved me a trip to the chemist." Denise said. "Hey, I only followed what I remembered you doing." Cindy protested. "Yes, and wrote it down while you were at it. I give you credit for it." Denise said. "Anyway, Sally loved that sample I took her. So did John." Betty said. "So what should we wear?" Andrea asked. This started a whole new round of discussions. Later they sat around the fire, relaxing with a glass of wine and listening to music. "How are the lessons for the computer class coming?" Betty asked, Andrea's head in her lap. "I haven't even turned on my monitor since Monday. But they are almost done for the whole quarter. I should be able to wrap them up in a few evenings. I want to spend as much time as I can working and loving with the girls while they are here." Denise said. "It has been wonderful having them here." Betty said, playing her fingers in Andrea's hair. "It's been wonderful for us too. I can't wait until we can stay here permanently." Andrea said, touching Betty's cheek affectionately. "Do we still have to wait until the end of the school year? I mean.... after we get married?" Cindy asked. "Gosh, there's a good question." Denise mused, playing her fingers in Cindy's hair. "I think, dear hearts... that the reasons for you continuing to live at home till the end of the school year still exist. Having you living here would supply June with all the ammo she needed to make her charges stick. So I think the answer is yes, you will still have to wait." Betty said. Cindy and Andrea both nodded their complacency, but they weren't happy about it. "I do think, however, that neither of your parents would object too strenuously to you girls staying over at each others houses in the interim. I doubt they would object to a married couple sleeping together. You could maybe alternate a week at each place and the weekends here." Denise suggested. "That would be nice... I know my folks would go for it. They offered to let you move in with me already." Cindy said. "But...." Andrea said, then stopped. "What love?" Betty asked. "Well.... if we get married. Would June still have ammo against us?" she asked. "Unfortunately... yes. See.... when we get married, that will be recognized by the government of Aruba. If we are quick enough to make it. But the laws of this state still forbid both plural and same sex marriages, so the marriage won't be legally recognized here. And the issue of dealing with the school board still remains for Denise and I. If they got wind of either Denise or I living a lesbian lifestyle, it would be adequate grounds for dismissal." Betty said. "Yes... I see." Andrea said, obviously disappointed. "It won't be so bad. Especially if your parents let you bunk together. ...... Oh! Just a week till Cindy's birthday. What would you like dear heart?" Denise asked. "Just a kiss from each of you would make it the best birthday I ever had." Cindy replied. "She did that to me too when I asked. Says all she wants is an ink cartridge for her printer." Betty chucked. "So if she doesn't tell us, then I guess she gets whatever we get her." Andrea teased. "Yes... she does. Speaking of which, I haven't even thought about Christmas shopping. That's just around the corner. I have to get that check into the bank too. Guess I should pay off my credit cards as I'll need them for shopping." Denise said. "Now don't you go spending all that hard earned cash on us. I've got all I could ever desire in your love." Cindy said. "I'll be conservative, but as far as my love for you.. I could no sooner stop loving you than I could quit breathing and live. I feel the same about all of you." Denise said. "Mmmm there she goes again, making me wet." Cindy cooed, snuggling her head to her. "Good, cause I'm certain we are all ready for a little dessert. What say we call it a night and play a little four-square." Denise suggested. "Four-square?... *Oh*, I get it." Andrea chuckled. "I think it's a great idea. I think we are all ready for bed. About your check, Denise. May I suggest that tomorrow afternoon you go get a business license and you start a business banking account. You can take a draw from it for your personal account as salary." Betty offered. "I could do that... Any particular reason?" Denise asked. "Yes love, taxes. If that whole amount goes on personal income, then you are going to eat it on taxes. If it goes into a business account... Well, you can write off a lot of stuff right off the top. Like the price of the computer; as cost of doing business. Also, if we finish up your workshop before the end of the year, then you can write that off too. But you have to be set up in there before the end of the year. The thing about writing off a home business, is that it has to be separate. It can't be used for home activities." Betty said. "You mean I can never make love to the girls on my desktop?" Denise chuckled, cupping one of Cindy's breasts playfully. "Yes... but it can't be the primary usage." Betty chuckled, doing the same to Andrea. By unspoken command they all rose as one. Betty reached over and set the dampers on the fireplace and they all moved arm in arm up the stairs. Denise set the house alarm. Betty had set the yard alarm after the food was delivered. They needn't have worried, as June had no further intention of bothering them. In fact... she was quite lonely and sad that she ever had given them trouble. After lovemaking, the women managed to crawl up into their adopted sleeping configuration. There they tenderly caressed each other to sleep. ------------------------------------- Friday morning was sort of hectic. Denise and Betty showered together at the same time as Cindy and Andrea were showering in the guest shower. Even making love in the shower, Denise and Betty had breakfast almost made by the time the girls came out, putting their shoes on as they sat at the table. It was only seven-thirty, but already the workmen were arriving to work on the deck. "They're certainly gung-ho today." Andrea mused, sleepily. "I think they want to get done. There is supposed to be a big storm coming in tomorrow afternoon." Betty said, serving the pancakes. "Hope it waits till after our run." Denise mused, cooking eggs. "It may. The *weather guessers* said around four o-clock." Betty said. "So expect it at dawn." Cindy chuckled. "They do pretty good nowadays. With that fancy Doppler radar." Betty said. "Yeah, not like they were when I was a kid." Denise said. "You're still a kid. At least you giggled like one last night." Cindy teased. "With fair reason. I didn't expect you all to gang up on me." Denise said. "Only fair. You all ganged up on me." Cindy said. "And me." Andrea said. "I think it was universal. We all ganged up on each other. I must say I've done more loving in the past couple of weeks than I've ever done in my life before." Betty said, rolling her eyes. "Yes, it's been wonderful. I don't expect next week to be any different either. My love forecast is for scattered loving all week with heavy downpours of it around Thursday and Friday." Denise chuckled. "New Doppler radar on your tongue, love?" Betty joked. "Nope. Common sense. Cindy's birthday on Thursday... with Penelope and Jenny coming." Denise replied. "Penelope....... I forgot all about her coming." Betty said, distantly. "I doubt that. But I'll bet she didn't." Denise said. "You keep talking like she's hot for me. It's never been that way." Betty said. "Just call's-em as I see-em, love." Denise said. "But I'm engaged to be married to three women." Betty objected. "Okay, girls. Show of hands. Anybody object to Betty making love with a life-long friend?" Denise asked. The girls went about buttering their pancakes, not even looking up. "Guess nobody minds. So you have no excuse." Denise said, serving Betty her eggs. "Alright. So what exactly does marriage mean to you all? I guess we really should talk about that before we do it." Betty asked. "I guess... It means that we will always be together, no matter who else may come and go in our lives. You've all given me your understanding that it's okay that my relationship with Bobby continues. We all made love with Jenny while she was here. Before that we all made love with June - not that that was a plus at anything. I haven't met Penelope yet, but I'm certain that from what I've heard that she means a lot to you. I certainly have less objection to you making love with her than I would June at this point. I don't ever want to stand in the way of you enjoying yourself with anybody you wish to. What I do care about is that our relationship -meaning the four of us- will continue forever." Andrea said, looking up. "I agree. That's pretty much how I feel about it. I have no objection to any of you making love with anybody you feel like, as long as it doesn't interfere with what we feel for each other." Cindy said. "The only variation I feel about that, is the concern over disease and pregnancy. You've given indication that Penelope has been sexually active with what she calls boy-toys. I trust that you will use your judgment over how much of a threat that is to us." Denise said. "I don't think she's been very active at that for a while. I think the AIDS plague has kind of cooled her ardor a bit. I'll ask her if it appears that we are headed that way. Okay?" Betty said. "Okay." Denise said, simply, serving Andrea her eggs. "No argument?" Betty asked. "None. I trust your judgment." Denise said, starting Cindy's eggs. "But she might not know? She could be infected without knowing." Betty argued. "True. So ask her when she got tested last and how active she's been since then." Denise said. Betty was quiet for a bit as she ate. Denise served Cindy and started her own eggs. "Does Frank do incorporation's?" Denise asked, sitting down to eat. "I guess so. Yes, I'm certain he does." Betty said. "I was thinking about what you said about my starting a business. I guess I ought to give him a call." Denise said. "Yeah... Better do it this morning so he can get on it. What are you going to call your company?" Betty asked. "Gosh... I hadn't got that far. I don't have a clue." Denise said, thoughtfully. "How about '*Feminine Touch*'? Has a double meaning." Cindy suggested. "I like that... But I think that would cost me business. A business name should be non-gender specific." Denise said. "So how about '*Magic Touch*'? I've seen you do things I thought were downright magic." Betty offered. "That's good... But I'm sure it's been taken." Denise said. "So how about '*Extraordinare*'?" Andrea suggested. "Ooh! I like that!" Cindy said. "Yes.... I do too." Denise said. "So do I. Sounds like a winner to me." Betty said. "What made you think of that?" Denise asked. "Oh... I was thinking about magic. I thought about all the extraordinary things you've done and the word just popped in my brain." Andrea said. "*Extraordinare* it is then. What time does Frank get into the office?" Denise asked. "As I recall he's an early riser. He's probably there now." Betty said, looking at the clock. It was just eight o-clock. Denise finished her breakfast and then called Betty's lawyer. He was indeed in the office. He said he would get right on it, that she could go ahead and start the bank account and he would have the papers ready Monday morning. He agreed that it would save Denise on taxes for the year. Betty took Andrea off to purchase some paper suits and throw away work gloves to work on the insulation. Denise told her to get at least four sets so they all could work on the insulation. She took Cindy out with her to start on the wiring. Denise found the heavy extension cord and the new drill motor -A *Milwaukee Hole Hog- *along with the special auger bit she had Betty obtain. She showed Cindy how to use the unique drill motor, which was big with the motor below the drill chuck. It was a two speed drill with a lever for changing gear ratio to the chuck. "That's a funny looking drill." Cindy mused. "An electricians dream. It's powerful enough to chew through studs in high speed mode. The motor configuration lets it get into tight places the longer designs can't do. Now the thing about drilling these holes is to get far enough back on the stud that the screws we drive into them to hold the wall board won't pierce the wires we run. On these interior walls, try to keep the holes centered, cause there will be screws coming into them from both sides. When you hold this, always leave the open side of your hand towards the way the motor will turn if you hit a nail and the bit grabs. This thing is powerful enough to break bones in low gear and hurt like hell in high." Denise replied, showing her on the first few holes. Cindy picked it right up. She followed behind drilling holes after Denise had used a marker to show where she wanted wires run. Denise concentrated on the wiring diagram she had drawn up and marking where she wanted holes drilled. Betty and Andrea came back and watched for a while. Then got into their new white paper outfits. They started cutting and installing insulation into the areas were there wasn't any wire running. After Cindy got the holes drilled, both her and Denise started running wires. They did the outside walls first so that Betty and Andrea could do the insulation. By noon they had the outside walls all wired and insulated. Denise cooked lunch for them. Betty and Andrea stripped off their suits and washed up so they wouldn't carry fibers in with them. "I'm glad we got these suits. I itch anyway." Andrea said, scratching her arms as they sat down to lunch. "You should try it without them." Denise chucked, "I suggest the hot tub when you are through for the day. It will float away whatever particles are sticking to you." "So what's your plan for the day?" Betty asked. "I'd like to get the rough wiring done so we can start on the wall board maybe tomorrow." Denise said, "We should be done with that by about three. Then I'll have time to make it to the bank." "Sounds like a plan. Andrea and I can hot tub it to get this stuff off us while you do that. Then we'll start on dinner. You can take over when you get back while we dress. Then you and Cindy can shower and dress while we entertain." Betty said. "Sounds workable. So what do you think about wiring, Cindy?" Denise asked. "Seems pretty simple to me. Especially with how you've been explaining it. I don't really get the GFI circuits though. All the others have lots of circuits on them, but the GFI's only have the bathrooms on them." Cindy replied. "You want any circuit that's going to be around water to be on a GFI. The GFI outlet breakers are cheap enough to supply one per bathroom. But you'd want to do that anyway. You wouldn't want the power in all the bathrooms to go off if you tripped one with a hair dryer. The way the other circuits are laid out, is with the safe maximum number of circuits. You can always under-load a circuit, you just don't ever want to over- load one." Denise explained. "I see, but why put the bathroom lights on the GFI? The lights are up on the ceiling." Cindy asked. "The switch isn't. The power goes up to the light off those switches. If you had wet hands and operated the switch, you could get killed. The GFI helps protect you from that. Also... what if the water from the shower got splashed on a hot light bulb? It would shatter the bulb and send a current back down the stream to you." Denise said. "Yes, I get it." Cindy said. "How come you're showing Cindy how to wire. Thinking of taking it up as a career, Cindy?" Andrea asked. "She asked me to show her. She's decided to go into physics for a career. House wiring is a good place to start her out. You should be thinking about what you wish to do too. You should have a good idea by the time you pick your classes for next year." Denise replied. "Gosh.. I haven't even thought about it much... But I think I would like psychology.... like you and Jenny." Andrea said. Denise kind of chuckled and sighed a bit. Cindy smiled at her. "Else wise, I wouldn't mind becoming a teacher, like you and Betty." Andrea said. "You know it doesn't pay much?" Betty asked. "I know.... But I'm not really concerned with money. As long as I have enough to live on comfortably. I expect I'll have a fairly large inheritance from my parents, hopefully not for a very long time. But I think I would like being a teacher anyway." Andrea said. "Well, the nice thing about that, is you can study just about any field and become a teacher. As long as you fill up your general Ed requirements. I'm a physics major with a psychology minor and I ended up teaching gym." Denise giggled. "Yes, and you are outstanding in all three." Betty said, "But you are correct in your assertion, you could study just about anything and get a teaching job. You could have a degree in basket weaving and get a teaching job. But it would be easier if your major was in the general Ed categories or science. Hell even PE like mine." Betty said. "You are the best educated gym coach I ever met." Denise said. "Only because you never met yourself." Betty chuckled. "Well.... my point is that you should decide before you get to high school at least which direction you wish to go. Perhaps not a specific career. You might have to end up being flexible on that. I suspect your interest in psychology stems from your own experiences. Which is a common reason for entering psychology." Denise said. "Mmmm not really in my case. I was thinking more along the lines of developmental psychology. The best ways to teach kids and how to best deal with their trauma's before they ever get to puberty." Andrea said. Denise smiled at her. Not pointing out that it was still probably Andrea's image of herself at the edge of puberty that drove her in search of understanding. That was okay. If she actually studied psychology long enough, she would come to her own conclusion about that. "Well, I'll be more than happy to help you in anything you choose to go into. But my field of study was more behavior than developmental. Anyway, what say we hit it again, Cindy. I'd like to finish up and get that money into the bank." Denise said, standing and bussing her dish. "Coming love." Cindy said, sharing a knowing look with Betty. "Have you decided how much to pay yourself?" Betty asked. "I had in mind about three-thousand. That will pay off my cards and give me some cash for Christmas and running funds. The cards are the biggest chunk of that." Denise said. "Okay... put it all into the business account when you start it, then write yourself a check from that for your other account. Don't do a less cash deposit. You need a record that it's a salary you are paying yourself." Betty said. "Will do." Denise said, heading out to the extension. Cindy checked the view through the French doors to see if anybody was looking. They were. She grabbed Andrea by the hand and pulled her around the corner to lip lock her, grabbing her by the back of the head as she kissed her passionately. "Mmm thank you." Andrea said. "Just wanted to remind you that I love you. I guess I better go to work now." Cindy said, letting up. Andrea hugged her to her a moment longer and they shared another kiss before parting. Cindy went off to help Denise. Andrea sat back down with Betty. "I think that girl loves you. I'd marry her if you get the chance." Betty chuckled. "I will... As I will you as well." Andrea said, taking Betty's hand a moment. "I was thinking, love. We can't lay the insulation in the attic until we get the wallboard up on the ceilings. So what say we hit the hot tub now and then have a little snuggle?" Betty offered. "I do love the way you think." Andrea grinned. Since the construction, Betty had hung curtains in the gym. They had full privacy when they stripped off their clothes and climbed into the tub. Andrea moved into an embrace with Betty who pulled her straddling over her. Euneika's extra length just sufficient to reach the gap between them as they moved together. Later they made certain that they submerged fully to get the fibers out of their hair before donning robes. They showered together upstairs and got a good head start on their snuggle. ------------------------------------- "Wonder where Betty and Andrea are?" Cindy asked. "That's a silly question, love. Betty realized they couldn't lay the insulation in the attic until the ceilings were up. So they are off for a little snuggle. I think Andrea is a bit apprehensive about her folks coming over tonight. Betty probably realized that and is applying a little love therapy." Denise said, not stopping work. "Love therapy... I like that. How do I qualify for that?" Cindy teased. "I think you qualified long ago. That outfit of yours does a great job of reminding me too. How about right after the Billings leave tonight?" Denise said. "Deal." Cindy said, running a wire. Denise smiled at her and they continued to work. Somehow driven to finish up the wiring. Lastly they ran the Ethernet cable from the apartment up next to the house. "Let's call it a day, love." Denise said. "It's not even two o-clock. You talked about going to the bank at three." Cindy said. "Darn the luck. Whatever shall we do with the time?" Denise demurred. Cindy looked at her and smiled. "I love you." she said. "Gosh... I like that. What say we go find out." Denise said, heading for the house. They were barely around the corner when Cindy grabbed her and kissed her deeply. Her hand moving up inside Denise's T-shirt and under her sports bra. She kissed hungrily as she groped her breast. Denise's hands were already working on the buckles of the bib. They walked themselves back into the guest room and fell on the bed, grasping and pulling at each others clothes. Andrea was napping when Betty slipped out to go for her run with Bobby. It was three-thirty by the time Denise and Cindy walked into Denise's bank. The new accounts manager was tickled to death to handle the transaction as Denise wished it. Even processing the first check as a deposit to Denise's personal account and taking the full payments out of her personal accounts to zero out her credit cards. Cindy sat back with a pleasant smile on her face as Denise dealt with the bank lady. "That's an awful lot of money for a teacher." the bank manager noted. "My new venture. The check is royalties on software sales. That's why the new business account. I expect to see much more where that came from." Denise said. "Great. Always happy to see that. Is this your sister?" the lady asked. "No, just a very good friend. This is Cindy." Denise introduced. "Pleased to meet you Cindy. Will you be working with Denise?" the lady asked. "With luck. She's tutoring me in technology." Cindy said, smiling at Denise. "Well, looks like you have a great tutor. Very few businesses start off with a royalties check that large." the lady said. "Yes, she's a great tutor." Cindy agreed. "Well, if we're though here, I think we have time to get in a little Christmas shopping." Denise said. "Yes, your embossed checks should be out to you within a week. Where would you like them sent to?" the bank lady asked. "Please mail them to the post office box rather than the house address. Also my statements. I'll be getting a business phone line next week. I'll let you know. You can reach me at that number until then." Denise told her, getting to her feet. "Okay. I look forward to hearing from you. And thank you for doing business with us. Your corporate credit card should arrive next week. Your pin number will arrive separately." the bank manager said. "That will be a gold card?" Denise asked. "Right. In fact I think we can upgrade your personal card to gold if you'd like." the manager offered. "Maybe later. I want to see this royalty income repeat before I have the ability to get myself into trouble." Denise chuckled. "Sounds like you are off to a great start. Nice to meet you Cindy. Bye now." the bank lady said. She looked after the pair curiously as they walked off. Wondering at the relationship. It seemed odd that the younger woman would want to spend time with the older one. She shook it off. It was none of her business. Business was, and Denise had just made a substantial deposit. She turned back to her work. Denise drove them to a large local electronics retailer. "What are we getting here?" Cindy asked. "My Christmas present for Betty. I think it's time to get her a hundred disk CD player with a remote control. As much as I'm going to miss her bent over in front of that three disk player." Denise chuckled. "Good idea. That other cable we ran today... for the stereo?" Cindy asked. "Yup. Also local display and control panel for the alarm and gate controls." Denise said. "Can you do that?" Cindy asked. "No problem. Maybe even a video intercom." Denise said. "Could be a problem. If we were mid-flagrato and someone came to the gate." Cindy chuckled. "A switch on the camera, love. Or better yet, no monitor on the gate." Denise said. "So what kind of music should I get Betty? If you are getting her the player, Andrea and I can get her some CD's." Cindy said. "Just what I had in mind. Easy on the budget, hours of pleasure. She likes the classical guitar stuff and mellow jazz. I'll help you pick some." Denise said. "Good.... I'm not wearing any panties under this skirt." Cindy said as they crossed the parking lot. Denise looked at her and grinned. "Neither am I under this one." she said. The two shared a chuckle. "Doesn't it make you feel very sexy?" Cindy asked. "Not half as sexy as knowing I have your love... An hour ago my mouth was on your womanhood." Denise teased back. Cindy seemed to squirm as they walked along. "You always did know how to make me wet." she said. Inside the store Denise looked at the different CD changers. She spotted a technician heading towards a service area. She snagged him and had a few words with him. Then came back and looked at the units. "What was that all about?" Cindy asked. "He fixes them. I asked him which ones he worked on the least. The most reliable. He likes this one. Says he owns one himself." Denise said, pointing one out. "Do you believe him?" Cindy asked. "I think so. For one thing, this isn't the highest priced one. In fact it's quite reasonable. He also says it's expandable. You can plug a small serial interface cable between several units and control them all from the same remote." Denise replied. A salesman came by and Denise ordered one of the units. He tried to talk her into a more expensive unit. Denise listened for a while, but was adamant. When he persisted Denise turned about to walk out. The salesman caught her and said he would gladly fill her order. Denise almost continued out the door until he offered a substantial discount if she bought today. Denise agreed and handed him her card. "That was interesting. He tried to increase his commission only to make less than he would have." Cindy said. "I don't mind him trying his salesmanship out on me. What annoyed me was his lying to me. He thought he could bullshit me because I was a woman." Denise said. "Lying to you? What part?" Cindy asked. "On the specs. What he said was not only incorrect, but physically impossible. He said the unit had a signal to noise ratio of a hundred fifty dB. That's not physically possible with any consumer electronics. You'd have to assemble the very finest aerospace parts using the highest state of the art assembly techniques and design to ever get close to that figure. I still don't think you could do it. Maybe a hundred thirty to thirty-five at best. Each count of three is twice as good as the previous. dB is a logarithmic curve. He stated that the output level was a quadrillion times the size of the residual noise. It's probably closer to one to ten million." Denise explained. "Why didn't you tell him that?" Cindy asked. "Why bother? It would just deflate his fragile male ego. Besides, it's not my job to educate the world." Denise said. The salesman came back with a box that had been opened. Denise sent him away until he came back with an unopened carton. "Why did you do that?" Cindy asked. "It's probably a unit that someone had a problem with and they brought it back. The store is just trying to pawn it off again. Maybe it was fixed. Maybe it was a customer control problem. I don't know. By insisting on one that hasn't been open I get one more probable to be problem free." Denise said. "Even shopping with you is an education." Cindy said. "I guess.... I don't care much for this store. So far I've seen several poor business practices. The only reason I came here was they have low advertised prices. Now I see how they do it; by cutting corners and pushing higher priced equipment." Denise said. The salesman came back with an unopened box. Denise examined it for shipping damage. Then nodded her acceptance. The salesman ran her card and made up her receipt. He seemed surprised when it came back valid. Denise signed the ticket while listening to the salesman offer a service contract to her. "No thank you. This is all I want. If it breaks, I'll fix it." Denise said. "You'll fix it?" the salesman asked. "Believe it. She has a masters in physics." Cindy chuckled. The salesman shut up. On the way out Cindy busted out laughing. "Oh the look on his face was priceless." she gasped as Denise put the carton into the trunk of her car. "Yes, that was fun." Denise said. "Do you mind if I love you just a little bit more?" Cindy asked, once they were back in the car. "Not a bit. Now about that lack of underwear you mentioned." Denise said, laying her hand on Cindy's inner thigh and working her fingers upwards. Cindy lay back in abandon as Denise pushed first one and then another finger inside her. A ways down the road she removed the fingers and moved them to her mouth. "Mmm just as I remembered it. Like nectar of the gods." Denise said, feeling Cindy's hand on her leg. "Careful love, I do have to drive, you know." Denise cautioned. "I just want a taste too." Cindy protested, keeping up her finger crawl. Denise fought not to close her eyes when Cindy's finger entered her. Then a second. Cindy didn't push it, just wiggled them a bit to pick up some moisture and then removed them and brought them to her lips. Carefully sucking on her fingers one at a time. "Would you like to stop at a music store?" Denise asked, hoarsely. "I'd rather stop at a motel or something. But no, I didn't bring any money with me." Cindy said. "I'll loan you what you need. We've still got an hour or so before we need to be back." Denise said. "How about swinging by my folks place then. I need to check the mailbox." Cindy offered. "Okay... but I don't think it's a mailbox you had in mind to check. I think you had a *female* box in mind." Denise chuckled. "Guilty. We don't have to if you don't want to. I can check the mail tomorrow." Cindy said. "I didn't say I didn't want to. That would be a lie. But we're going to have to be quick about it." Denise said, setting course for Cindy's house. "I just want to taste you on my tongue directly." Cindy said. "As do I, you, my love." Denise replied. They drove along with an increasing sexual tension between them. The mailbox forgotten when they arrived. They headed straight for Cindy's bedroom. Scant minutes later they both got their wish. They both had their fill of that, then scissored together, frantically moving their hips through several strong orgasms. The last Cindy moved over Denise and they gently rocked to a face to face, eyes open orgasm. Reluctantly, after much deep, sensual kissing they managed to roll out of bed again and finally got dressed once more. Sharing one last sensual kiss. Cindy grabbed some more stockings and underwear. They checked the mailbox on the way out. Cindy took a pile of it back inside and then locked the door. They made one stop on the way home for a dessert for the evening. Betty and Andrea were out on the deck with the foreman when they arrived. The deck was finished. Denise and Cindy joined them. "Your design worked out well. I checked it with a garden hose and each roof segment drains well." the foreman told Denise. "I like how the mounts and drainage system looks too." Betty said. "Yes, it does look quite interesting." Denise said, admiring the work. "Well, I guess my work is done here. You'll let me know if there's anything else I can do for you, or if you have any trouble with what we've built?" the foreman asked Betty. "You got it. Come spring we'll probably want you to build us a garden workshop. Perhaps with a green house on the side of it." Betty said. "I have some very good greenhouse plans. Utilizing the latest materials. Very trouble free and long lasting. Even has built in temperature regulation so it doesn't get too hot inside." the foreman said. "I'll give you a call in the spring then. I want to thank you for doing such a nice job. You and your crew have done an excellent job here. I'll recommend you to anybody I meet that's looking for a good contractor." Betty said. "Thank you. I'd appreciate that. And you'll let me know if and when you're up to taking on consulting work, Denise?" he asked. "Yes, don't count on that though. I'm primarily a software consultant. I think that field will be keeping me fairly busy. I don't want to bury myself too deep in work. I wish to enjoy life." Denise said. "Well let me know when you get up to speed at that. I'm due to update my accounting and CAD computers. From what Betty's told me you know your stuff." he said. "Thank you. I'll do that." Denise said. The foreman did one last walk around with Betty and then said his good- byes. He never once mentioned what he had seen. The girls were visibly happy at whatever they were doing. He thought he detected a slight hint of a familiar scent on Denise's breath. That was alright with him. Given the same option, that was what he would have been doing. Once inside, Betty pulled Denise into a sensual kiss. She pulled back smirking. "My, what have you two been doing? As if I didn't know that delightful bouquet." she chuckled. "Cindy had the wonderful idea of stopping off to check her folks mailbox. Once there we just couldn't let that bed go to waste." Denise chuckled. "Fooling around behind my back huh?" Andrea said, kissing Cindy passionately. "Mmmm that's a nice bouquet too." she added. "I figured I didn't wish to be the only one *not* babbling tonight from endorphins." Cindy chuckled. "You won't be. Betty and I had a nice little snuggle both before and after her run. I'm afraid we only got the dinner as far as the sauce." Andrea said. "That's why we came back when we did. Per our agreement. If you two wish to go get ready then we will finish up." Denise said. Both the other women collected several more kisses before they headed for the bedroom. Cindy and Denise moved in to check on the dinner and make the sauce. The rest was all prepared and in the oven keeping warm. Denise dug out the recipe and together her and Cindy made the sauce. Making a love game about tasting it on each others tongues. They managed to finish it before Betty and Andrea came down, looking like a million bucks. "Woooeeee! Damn you look fine girl!" Cindy said to Andrea. Andrea beamed back at her. "They both do." Denise said, turning the sauce down to keep warm setting on the stove. Betty came up behind Denise and kissed her on the neck in thanks for the compliment. "Mmm dear heart." Denise said. "Mmm, yes love?" Betty said. "I truly like the Billings, but if you keep that up, with the way you look, I'm just going to have to tell them to go away when they get here." Denise said. "Alright, I'll be good..... And thank you. Now why don't you and Cindy go get gussied up. Andrea and I will hold the fort till you come down. But no hanky panky. You don't have time for it." Betty said, collecting a big kiss before turning Denise loose. Andrea was doing the same with Cindy. Denise snagged a kiss from Andrea and Cindy from Betty before they made their way upstairs. By the time they came down again, they were dressed to kill. Andrea's parents were just pulling up to the gate. Denise hit the opener on the way past. All the women shared hungry kisses before Andrea's parents made it to the door. John carried a big box with him. Both wore their own fancy dress. It didn't escape the four women how good they looked. "Hello. Glad you could make it. What's this?" Betty said, greeting them at the door. "A little something for Denise. The software she asked for." John said, setting the box down. "Oh, I wished you had forgotten that. Now I may never see her again." Betty chuckled. Sally greeted her daughter with a big hug and brief kiss. Complimenting all the women on how good they looked. "Why don't we take your coats and then give you the walk through tour before we settle in." Betty offered. The Billings relinquished their coats and Denise hung them up for them in the entry closet. John was doing his best not to notice how hot the four looked. Especially as one was his daughter and the others were her fiancees. "Why don't we start in the library and I can drop these off." Denise offered, picking up the box. "I can get that." John offered, trying to take the box from her. "No, I'm fine." Denise said, though the box was heavy. They followed Denise toward the library. "Some white wine?" Betty queried before they got away. Both nodded, following Denise. Andrea tagged along with them on her fathers arm. Betty and Cindy poured the wine. Then each carried three glasses into the library. John and Sally were surveying the books. "So these are the infamous books that Denise noticed that made you fall in love with her. Quite a selection." John teased. "Oh Daddy." Andrea said, somehow a bubbling teenager again with her parents around. Betty passed Sally and Denise a glass and then moved to Denise's side. "Yes.... She was the first person to notice that I read books." Betty said, kissing Denise on the cheek. Cindy handed a glass to John and Andrea, then moved to Andrea's side. "Wine for the girls?" John queried, fighting his smirk. "Not more than a few glasses. What we are teaching them is the responsible side of drinking." Denise replied. "I know. I was just teasing. I'm quite certain they knew the other side already." John said. "You know quite well they did. That's why you installed that lock on the liqueur cabinet up at the cabin." Sally chuckled. "Yes, well, shall we continue?" Denise offered. "Yes, quite a setup you have here. Are they networked?" John asked. "Yes. And today Cindy and I ran the network cable for the extension section. When we are done the whole place will be networked." Denise said, leading them out. Next came the solarium, which Sally just flipped over. Then the guest room and bath, then up the stairs to the current master bedroom and bath. Sally glanced at the bed, blushing a bit over all the stories she was sure it could tell. Andrea seemed to catch her gaze and ended up blushing herself. "A bit small for four." John mused, looking at the bed. "Comfortable for now. We'll have a bigger one in the new master bedroom. Shall we go see it?" Betty replied. The Billings nodded. Sally poked her husband in the ribs, but took his arm. Betty led them out the French doors onto the deck. "I wish we had the lights on here, but it's warmer in here." Betty said, leading them through a second set of French doors into the new section. Denise had enough of the wiring done to supply them with a few lights she had wired in that afternoon. She flipped a breaker and the lights illuminated the stick construction they had performed over the week. "I thought you said that the contractors weren't doing the inside." John commented. "They aren't except they put up this one central wall. We did the rest this week." Denise said, holding her smirk. "You're kidding!" John said, mouth agape. "Nope. We even got the apartment for Bobby framed. We finished this up last night. Today Betty and Andrea did the insulation while Cindy and I ran the wiring." Denise said. "Well I *am* impressed. You've been very busy. Good job too. I can't tell the difference between this and a professional job." John said. "If you looked close, you would see a lot of bent nails from when we first started. But we picked it up pretty quick. Yesterday the foreman brought in his lead men for us to show how it was done. He said we were as good as his best team." Betty chuckled. "All Andrea's doing, mind you. She figured out a system for us that was really efficient." Denise added, kissing Andrea on the cheek. Andrea blushed crimson over the fuss over her, but snuggled to Denise's side. Betty walked them through the extension describing each room. All the way through Bobby's apartment with it's separate bath, kitchen, dining room, bedroom and living room. Sally silently noted the proximity of Andrea's bedroom in relation to Bobby's. She said nothing. "But you won't enter this section from the deck though?" John asked. "Nope. We were just waiting to get enough of the construction done to keep the dust down in the main house before we knock out that wall at the end of the hall between the solarium and library." Denise said. "Yes, the perfect place for a door." John said. "It matches up with this hallway exactly... we hope." Betty chuckled, leading them back up it. "So what's to be done yet?" Sally asked. "Oh... the plumbers come in Monday. We need to get the cement board partially up in the bathrooms so they can set some tubs and shower fixtures. They'll rough the whole place in at least. The pipes are all laid under the floors. After they finish we need to finish the baths in cement board and hang wall board in all the rooms. Then we have to tape, sand and paint the whole place. Denise -and probably Cindy- need to finish the wiring fixtures. We need to lay carpet and tile. We need to build the cabinets for the apartment kitchen and set the appliances. Then the plumbers come back and set all the fixtures. Then we can knock the wall out to connect the hallways. Lastly we need to finish the big hot tub and kitchen on the deck and the wiring for the roof mechanism." Betty said. "So quite a bit, really." Sally mused. "Yes, we hope to have all the wall board done by the end of next week. Then it's back to weekend projects with the girls. But they are as excited to complete it as we are." Denise said. "I'll bet they are." Sally chuckled, teasing her daughter. Andrea just smiled at her, Cindy by her side. Betty led them back into the main house. Denise killed the lights after them, putting the programmable thermostat back on it's main program to lower the heat during the night and to warm it up about when they got up in the morning. Then she joined the others in the main house. Betty showed them through the gym, laundry room and garage, showing them Denise's new workshop, which was just an empty shell at the moment. Then back to the living room. They sat around the fireplace sipping their wine. John admiring the design of the fireplace. Denise added another log and closed it up again. "This is some place you've got here. It will be even more incredible when it's done." John commented. "Yes. I'm quite pleased with it. I'm really proud of the girls, with how they have jumped in to do their share of the work." Betty said, Andrea at her side. "Yes, I'm quite pleased with that myself. I can see from what you've gotten done that they are working hard. There's no way you two could have done all that by yourself. In fact.... With school starting after the first of the year, I wouldn't object to Andrea staying on till then if it would help." John said. "We would love to have her. It's been a delight having them both here. Almost like a dream come true in fact." Betty said, tenderly touching Andrea's cheek. "I think I could possibly talk Sam and Marge into letting Cindy stay on as well. But I would imagine you'd like Andrea at home for Christmas." Denise said, caressing Cindy's cheek in a similar manner. "Yes... but she can come over for the day and then come back.... if she wants to stay here that is?" Sally offered. "Yes, very much so. I also wish to spend Christmas with you. I suspect it would be my last Christmas at home. Perhaps for Bobby too if things work out that way." Andrea said. "Good. Yes, I would like to spend another Christmas with my family together. Perhaps you all could come over for Christmas dinner?" Sally asked. "I'm sorry. I already promised I would have dinner with the Crowther's on Christmas." Denise said. "Yes, and my mother would lynch me if I missed Christmas dinner at her place. She always has a big to-do." Betty said. "That's okay. Just an offer. You're all welcome anytime." Sally said. "Well, I would imagine that my mother will insist on a big party with you and the Crowther's before we get hitched. So that her and my father can get acquainted with you." Betty said. "How's that going anyway?" Sally asked. "We are just waiting for the girls passports and our visa's to arrive. Then we book the first flight we can down to Aruba." Betty said. "Likely that will happen in January. So we'll probably fly out Friday night and be back in time for school on Monday." Denise said. "No honeymoon?" John asked. "Yes, after schools out. We plan on a real honeymoon in Pinang. A little island off Malaysia in the straits of Mallacca. Some friends of my folks have a secluded estate there that they hardly ever use. We can use it for free. All it would cost us really is just air faire and the price of our food while we are there." Betty said. "Yes, that sounds more like a honeymoon. I'm a bit jealous of that." John chuckled. "Well, Sam and Marge are on their second one now. Their first really according to Marge. No reason why you two couldn't go on one if we can get Bobby and Andrea settled in here." Denise said. "We may just do that. You get Bobby talking, Betty. And I will gladly sponsor your honeymoon." John offered. "I'm working on it. Real hard." Betty said. "I know you are. You all have been. And I'm eternally grateful to all of you for that." John said, a bit misty eyed. "So what's for dinner? It smells wonderful." Sally said, changing the subject. "Have we got a surprise for you. Cindy duplicated Denise's sauce recipe for that dish I brought you a sample of." Betty replied. "Outstanding! I *must* have the recipe." Sally said. "Before you leave tonight, I promise. Now if Cindy will give me a hand, then we can get the rest set up while you visit with Betty and Andrea." Denise replied, getting to her feet. "Coming love." Cindy said, getting to her own. The endearment came as a bit of a surprise to the Billings for some reason. It just seemed to remind them that their daughter was in a very unusual relationship. With not only the same sex, but several of them. Sally now suspected it got even stranger. She found herself looking at Andrea thoughtfully. Betty seemed to read something in her look. "It really has been wonderful having Andrea here this past week. I know this is all very unusual for you and you are handling it very well for as hard as it must be for you. But as you can see... we all love her very much. She's a very important part of this... *family*... that we all have become. It would not be the same without her in our lives. I promise I will always care for her and never knowingly allow her to come to harm." Betty said. "I don't think we would be here now if we didn't believe that. But I appreciate you saying it none the less. I guess it has been a bit of an adjustment for us. But I can see that she really loves you all. This is what she wants. That is the reason why we are willing to try to make that adjustment." John said. "I do love them all, Daddy. With all my heart. I want to be married to them for the rest of my life. Longer if it's possible." Andrea said, misty eyed. Betty put her arms around her and hugged her to her. Andrea snuggled to her like a little girl... and a wife. It was at that moment that Sally decided to keep her suspicions to herself. She knew it would work out. Betty had directly addressed her worst fears. Bobby would talk again. He would have a vasectomy. He would be living here. He would be sharing a relationship with Betty... *and Andrea*. Possibly with Denise and Cindy too, but that wasn't as certain in her mind. "I guess you intend for Andrea to live here after you are married." she said, softly. "We talked about that. Denise and I have decided that it's still for the best if the girls remain living at home until the end of the school year to avoid giving June any more fuel. But we were hoping that we could convince you and the Crowther's to let Andrea and Cindy stay with each other between your homes. As they will be married." Betty said, holding Andrea to her. "Yes, of course." Sally replied, sharing a look with Betty. Betty knew in that instant that Sally knew it all. Or had figured out much of it. The only thing she could think of to reassure her was to tenderly kiss Andrea on the cheek. Sally smiled at her in response. "I think we are ready if you wish to be seated." Denise announced. John and Sally got to their feet as did Andrea and Betty. For some reason Sally hugged Andrea to her a moment before they moved to the dinning room. Betty had added an extension leaf to the table. She seated both girls on one side, John and Sally on the other facing them and her and Denise on the ends. Cindy kissed Andrea on the cheek in support. Andrea smiled at her and returned the gesture. "I can tell this is not your normal seating arrangement." John commented. "Oh? How can you tell?" Betty asked. "Andrea and Cindy seem unfamiliar sitting side by side. I would say that they normally faced each other." John said. "Not always. But often. Whenever we have company, Denise is usually seated at the head of the table, as she is our undisputed matriarch. Generally, Cindy sits at her right hand and Andrea sits at mine. Denise insists on giving me the head of the table when we don't have guests." Betty said. "There is a certain sort of logic to that." John said, thoughtfully. "The seating arrangements don't always reflect our relationships. We all have a strong relationship with each other. At times it's been stated that Denise and I share a primary relationship as do the girls, with a strong relationship between Denise and Cindy and Andrea and I. But that's not always the way it works out. If you will forgive the terminology; sometimes we all find ourselves... *hungry* for one of the others. At times Andrea and Denise will spend time together as will Cindy and I. At times it's Denise's company I crave and the girls pair off. For some reason we've found we all sleep best with Denise and I in the middle and the girls spooned behind us. None of us sleeps very well without Denise in the bed." Betty said. "One night Denise got up to drink a cup of tea. One by one we all found ourselves down here with her drinking tea. I don't sleep so well without Cindy in bed with me. I don't have to touch her, just know she's there." Andrea chuckled. "Whereas I don't sleep so well without touching her physically. Just a touch of her hair on my cheek is sufficient for me to sleep like a baby." Betty added. "It's kind of funny. I can sleep okay snuggled to Denise, but when Andrea and I sleep in the guest room I sleep fine as well. But if I go to sleep snuggled to Denise and she gets up, then I wake up." Cindy said. "Well, then I think that we'd better allow you girls to sleep together when you get married, just to insure you both get a good nights sleep of course." Sally chuckled. "Shall we eat?" Denise said, somehow uncomfortable being the focus of the sleep discussion. "Yes. It smells wonderful." John said, reaching for the rice. "I guess this isn't as elegant as a multi-course meal, but I knew you both liked this and this is sort of a celebration for Cindy rediscovering the recipe." Betty offered. "It's great. In truth I'd rather enjoy a casual meal than a stiff formal one." John said. "Well, don't get too much out of practice. My mother loves formal dinners. But they aren't usually all that stiff. Denise successfully survived one. Two, come to think of it." Betty said. "Yes, thanksgiving was interesting." Denise mused. "You bowled them over, both times." Betty commented, "I guess you girls are next. She wants to meet you next week for lunch on Friday." "You didn't mention that before." Denise said. "Seemed as good a time to break it to you as any. She's mildly upset you haven't been to visit her for tea like you promised yet." Betty chuckled, helping herself to the rice after Sally. She passed the bowl around to Andrea. "I'd love to meet your parents. But I'm a little nervous about it." Andrea said. "Me too." Cindy said. "Her mothers a pussy cat. But so is a jaguar. I get the feeling that she isn't someone I wish to cross. I'd better schedule an afternoon to have tea with her." Denise chuckled. "Just sometime before Christmas will be fine." Betty said. "So how much studying have you girls done this past week?" Sally teased. "Not enough, I'm ashamed to say. We've been fairly busy with the construction as you've seen. But I intend to remedy that next week." Denise said. "Oh, did you have to remind them?" Andrea moaned. "Actually. We've both gotten a head start on the computer class." Cindy offered. "Only looking over my shoulder while I was preparing the lessons. I didn't tell you any of the answers." Denise said. "Any chance I could have a copy of the lessons for Bobby?" John asked. "Certainly. I'll copy off the whole course for you. It's on several disks. I decided the best way to teach the course was paperless, as it *is* a *computer* course. I have multiple lessons which contain the most common programming errors. The students have to find the errors before the programs will run properly. I intended for them to print out each lesson as they got it to work properly and build their own reference manual." Denise said. "That sounds like a good idea. I'll probably go though it myself." John said. "Bobby's sure taken with that desktop you set up for him. Even when he sits in front of the TV he's got it with him." Sally said. "Yes, he seems to be learning a lot about programming. I see him reading and re-reading those books you loaned us. It sounds like this course you are preparing is just what he needs." John said. "Yes, well don't let Andrea see the answers before she does her own lessons." Denise chuckled. "You know me better than that. I wouldn't learn much that way." Andrea protested. "Yes love, I know. I was teasing. I know you are quite studious when you put your mind to it." Denise said. "Quite a bit more so since her association with you two teachers. I just got a look at her report card for last term. She improved across the board." John said. "Yes, well wait till next term. I intend to get strait A's." Andrea said. "I get the feeling you are going to have to work for that." Sally chuckled, looking at Denise and Betty. "If she earns it, she'll get it. If not, she won't." Denise said, simply. "Yes, and I will have her for health next quarter. The same applies there." Betty said. "Somehow I get the impression she has a fair understanding of the female body at this point." John said. "*Daddy*!" Andrea gasped, blushing crimson. "Relax, love. I think it has to do with that implied consent to indulge in sex that Cindy and I went though with the Crowther's." Denise chuckled. Now it was John's turn to blush. "I think you hit that on the head, Denise." Sally chuckled, "He doesn't usually blush like that." "It's only fair." Andrea said. "This is excellent!" Sally said, tasting the egg rolls with the sauce. "Yes, it is." John said, still uncomfortable. "Thank you. We credit Cindy with the sauce. She had the brains to write it down as she did it." Denise said. "Thank heavens for that. It would be a loss to the world to lose this recipe." Sally said, "But the egg rolls are great too. Who made them?" "We all did. Each one is likely to be different. We set out all different ingredients and just mixed and matched as the whim hit us as we rolled them." Denise said. "Denise had it all set up when Andrea and I got back from your place on Monday. Her and Cindy made most of them." Betty said. "I must say. I find it amazing you've found time to run with Bobby everyday, considering all you've done this week." Sally said. "Yes, but I quite enjoy it. I think he does too." Betty said. "I know he does. He always seems cheerful when he comes back in after your run." Sally said. "Yes, I've been expecting him to speak any moment." John said, hopefully. "I think he will soon." Denise said, "If he does... Well, remember what Jenny said. Don't push him too much." "We won't push him at all." John said. "A bit might be okay. He has to face his current reality. By not talking, that's exactly what he isn't doing. A bit of push may help him stay out once he emerges from that. Too much would cause him to retreat back into it..... I don't mean to alarm or distress you. This is of course only my opinion." Denise said. "No... I've come to respect your opinions. What you say makes sense... So how do you think we should proceed if and when he speaks?" John asked. "The part not to push, is what happened to him in Vietnam. Just concentrate on homelife. Encouraging him in his programming is sort of a push for him into a direction where he can deal with his own support and self dependency. It's a positive push. It puts no pressure on him. It encourages him to strive for his own successes. That's the kind of pushing I'm referring to." Denise replied. "Yes... that makes sense. Like encouraging a child for doing well in school." Sally said. "Yes, a similar analogy." Denise said, "In part, that's what Betty is doing now with their running. Also what we are doing with the weekend runs. We are getting him out, seeing the world. I've noticed he's very observant on the rides to the park. He's looking out the window at what the world is like now. The same is true when we are running through the park. He watches kids playing Frisbee. He notices the model airplanes that the big kids fly. He looks at the different cars parked around the park. He seems to notice clothes that people wear. He's experiencing new things, like the frozen yogurt we eat after our run. All this is new information for him. Now he's out poking around the Internet. As random and downright anarchist as that is, it's new information. New experiences. A sample of the world." "Yes. We're very grateful to you for your support in all those activities." John said. "I'm not doing it for any reward or gratitude, I assure you. None of us are. We all just wish to see Bobby come out of his shell. That will be the best reward we could ever seek." Denise said. "Yes, quite so." John said, applying himself to his meal. The conversation lapsed for a bit while they all ate. "I'm really most impressed with your progress on the extension. May I offer my assistance on the wall board?" John offered. "Oh, that's kind of you. But it's really our project. We enjoy doing it, really." Betty said. "Well, how about I help out on Andrea's room at least? Fact is that I would very much enjoy working with my daughter. That would be no different than any parent giving their child a leg up to get started." John offered. "I'd like that." Andrea said. "I don't see why not. Fact is that we're all green at this. If you could help us with Andrea's room, then we could maybe apply that knowledge to the rest of the construction. For one thing, I have no idea how to hang the ceilings. We need to do that before we can lay the insulation in the attic." Denise said. "That is kind of a tricky operation. You have to brace the sheets up while you fasten them. This is difficult to do as they are brittle." John said. "We would be very grateful if you could show us how to do that." Betty said. "How about tomorrow? Say around nine or ten. I don't know what time you get up and get moving around here." John said. "We've been keeping fairly early hours. This morning we were up eating breakfast when the construction crew arrived to finish the deck." Andrea said, but remembering the previous morning when they had stayed in bed till almost noon. "We have been getting an early start, *usually*. Denise and I are both early risers as we are used to having to be to school before the students. But quite often these two beat us up by long enough that they serve us breakfast in bed." Betty said. "That's very nice of them." Sally noted. "Maybe, but in all fairness, I must say that they have served us breakfast in bed many, many times. They started the tradition. Quite often there is a red rose on our tray." Andrea said. "How romantic." Sally mused. "Yes... they've certainly taught us the meaning of that." Cindy said. "You speak as if that was a difficult task. Loving you two is quite easy. Romance is just a natural extension of what we feel for you. It would feel unnatural *not *to be romantic towards you." Denise said. "That's the truth." Betty said. "You know, I had expected that your relationships would be different than my sphere of experience. But I don't see them as being that different. Young love is young love. Romance is still romance. Women still love to receive flowers. They still love to be pampered." John mused. "How did you expect it to be different?" Denise asked. "Oh, I don't know. I just expected it would be." John said. "If anything... I guess we are even more so as you described. Because we are all women. We're more prone to all do those things. When the girls couldn't supply us with real roses, they made some paper ones and dipped them in food coloring. I treasure those even more than the real ones." Denise said. "Yes. I can see that." Sally said. Dinner was pretty much completed. Denise and Betty stood to bus the dishes. Andrea and Cindy jumped up to help. "Who's for coffee and dessert?" Betty asked. "Just coffee for me, please." John said. "Ooh, what have you got?" Sally asked. "I discovered a little bake shop that's come into the modern world. I have either chocolate or vanilla eclair's filled with low-fat filling." Denise offered. "Ooh. You certainly know my weaknesses. The words low-fat and chocolate in the same sentence are enough to excite any woman." Sally chuckled. "One chocolate coming up. Coffee?" Denise asked. "Please." Sally replied. "That does sound good. Maybe I'll go for a vanilla. Perhaps half of one. I'm not a big sweet eater." John said. "I'll fix their coffee. I know how they like it." Andrea said, pouring two cups. She doctored them up and then served her father with a cup and a whole eclair. "Eat what you'd like and leave the rest. We're not very big sweet eaters around here either." she said. Betty served Sally her coffee and eclair. The others served themselves. Betty passed out Dessert spoons as the girls had missed them, thinking of eclairs as finger food. "Mmm this is great. Where did you get these?" Sally asked. "That little bakery over on fifth and seventh." Denise said, "Cindy and I had to go over to check her parents mail today. So it was right on the way back." Andrea sort of chuckled to herself as she ate her eclair. Thinking of what else Denise and Cindy checked while they were there. Sally smiled at her daughter. Correctly reading the situation from Cindy's blushed condition. "So what did you do this afternoon?" Sally asked Andrea. "Huh? Oh... I took a nap." Andrea said, blushing. "After I got back from my run with Bobby, she helped me prepare the meal for tonight. We held off the sauce until Denise and Cindy got back." Betty said. "Oh, speaking of which." Denise said, rising. She moved to a cupboard in the kitchen and returned with a sheet of paper with the sauce recipe. Handing it to Sally. "And what do you put in the egg rolls?" Sally asked, perusing the recipe. "Oh... Well, we started with shredded turkey meat. We cut that into one inch lengths first. Then the rest is cooked wild rice, some minced onion, some poultry herbs like thyme and sage and some shredded cabbage. You mix that all up, then add other things as suit your fancy, like pine nuts or other kinds of nuts. The cashews and macadamia nuts do well also. Almost any of the sweeter nuts would work well. I cut up some green onion, using only the end inch and a half. That's in some of them. There's diced ham, grated carrot, some water cress, slivered yam. Just whatever your heart desires to try. As long as you end up with the same quantity in each roll. The only trick is that you have to throw away whatever you don't use as stuffing, as your hands have been touching the raw egg wash used to seal the rolls." Denise said. "Well they are great. I tried three different ones and they were all different and all wonderful." Sally said. "Yes, it was great. Thank you for inviting us." John said. "You are both quite welcome. It was a good opportunity to show you around the place." Betty said. "Yes, it's a beautiful house. I can see it's going to be even more so. So what time should I come over tomorrow?" John asked. "Oh, have a second cup of coffee and relax. Saturdays are kind of lazy for us. We seldom get going before nine on Saturdays." Betty said. "How about nine-thirty then?" John offered. "That sounds good." Betty replied, "We all knock off about noon to get ready for our weekly run." "Two and a half hours? Yeah, I'm certain we can hang all the sheet rock in Andrea's room in that time." John said. "If you could just show us how to hang the ceilings, then we'd be grateful." Denise said. "No problem. Have you got power screw drivers?" John asked. "Yup. Betty bought us each one. Rechargeable. With an extra battery pack for each." Andrea said. "We also have a variable speed power drill with screw driver bits you can use." Denise offered, "That reminds me. Will you girls put your drills and battery pack on the chargers tonight so they will be up to charge for tomorrow?" she asked. "Yes, before bed." Andrea replied. "I thought you said not to charge them until they showed signs of slowing up?" Cindy said. "Mostly, that's good practice. The whole idea is to always vary the load range on a NI-CAD pack. If you always use it just a little bit, then recharge it, then it gets a memory effect where that short range is all that it will supply power for. If you use it down just until it runs down, then recharge right away, then they will last longest. But if you can't charge them up right away, then you are better leaving them with a partial charge till you can. The biggest damage is from over using them. You can kill a cell permanently by just one incident of over using it." Denise said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to go off on a science lecture while we had guests." "Not at all. I find it fascinating. And Sally has shown amazing tolerance for it over the years. I'm quite certain I've rambled on many times when she had no interest whatsoever in what I was talking about." John chuckled. "I don't mind at all. Sometimes I'm even interested when you think I'm not. Rechargeable batteries are a way of life for all of us nowadays. Why will over using them kill them?" Sally asked. "Oh... Well. In a multi-celled battery pack -which is almost always the case now- none of the cells supply exactly the same amount of power as any other one. The result of this is that one cell will *always* go dead before the others. When that happens, *and* you *continue* to draw power from the pack, it actually forces electricity *backwards* through that one cell and this causes a chemical change to occur in the cell. It develops chemical shorts as a result of this. Then when you try to recharge it -in the proper polarity- then these micro-shorts just bleed the incoming energy off in the form of heat. The cell never charges again. If it does, then perhaps one or a couple of these tiny shorts will just drain it again quickly. You can sometimes *Zap* one of these shorted cells with a very sharp current spike to burn those micro-shorts open. That will rejuvenate the cells for a while, but once they have been reversed charged, they are never quite the same again." Denise said. "I see. And is there a way to cure this memory effect you were talking about?" Sally asked. "Yes. But it's complicated. You need to isolate each cell and discharge it totally at a rate of one tenth it's full current. Because it's isolated from the others, then it doesn't damage the cell as the current never runs backwards through it. Once the cell is dead, then you charge it up to full charge at the same rate. If you do this three times, then it erases the memory effect on the cell. The biggest trick is discharging the cell at a constant current with the voltage dropping." Denise said. "How do you do it?" John asked. "There are ways to hook up a transistor that will result in a constant current drain." Denise said. "So you configure a transistor as a constant current source and then place this around the cell?" John asked. "Basically. In practice, it's usually adequate to just use a carbon resistor that is centered to give one tenth the current in the center of the usable voltage range. Say one-point-one or one-point-two as low end with one- point-four as the high end. So figure for about one-point-two-five to one- point-three at a tenth the current." Denise said. John took a small calculator out of his breast coat pocket. He punched some numbers into it. "So, about thirty-two-point-five ohms for a four-hundred milliamp penlight cell?" he asked. "Sounds right. As that's an odd value. Thirty-three is probably just fine." Denise said. John poked a few more numbers. "And quarter or even eighth watt resistors will work fine." he mused. "Yup." Denise said. "I think Sally's about reached her saturation point on that. You two went off into numbers we don't follow." Betty said. "No, it checks. Using ohms law." Cindy said. Everybody looked at her oddly. Denise proudly. "Denise has been tutoring me in technology. I've done some reading in electronics too. I just used ohms law. You were talking about resistors, volts, current and power. That's exactly what ohms law works with. Resistance is volts divided by current. Power is volts times current. I just plugged the numbers you were talking about into the equation." Cindy said. "How? You had no calculator." Sally observed. "In my head. It wasn't that hard. One point three divided by point O-four- O. Works out close to a third, or thirty-three times rather. Going the other way, one-point-three times point O-four-O. Four times thirteen, or twenty-six times two. Equals fifty-two. Shift the decimal point you get point o-five-two." Cindy said. "Seems we have a math whiz in our midst. I shall have to encourage this trait in the future." Denise said, beaming at her in pride. "Oh, what have I done now?" Cindy moaned to herself. "Relax love. I'm just impressed that you *did* do it in your head. As you said, it's not really hard. Most people just don't bother nowadays with calculators so close at hand. I would never force you into something you felt uncomfortable with. If you are interested, if you *like* it, then I have a book of exercises that can help develop natural abilities in that area. It's up to you whether or not you wish to develop that." Denise said, still beaming at her. Cindy found herself blushing still. Andrea giggled and kissed her cheek in support. "The one thing that convinces me more than anything else that this relationship -this *family*- of yours will work out, is the degree that you all seem to be at ease and comfortable with each other. Even *with* us present." John observed. "It's really been sort of that way from the start. With the four of us that is. It's developed quite naturally from the point at which we became a family. We all get along together. We all have similar interests. I suspect that some of those interests were adopted by the girls because Betty and I liked them, but they seem to genuinely enjoy them now themselves. There's a particular CD we all enjoy very much. It's a modern band doing renditions of very old songs. The girls seemed to take to it right off." Denise said. "It's romantic." Andrea said, taking Cindy's hand and squeezing it. "Yes, it is. I think some songs are timeless for that." Betty said. "May we hear this CD?" Sally asked. "Certainly. Although I must warn you it instills a strong desire for dancing." Denise said, moving to the stereo. The others couldn't help noticing Denise's lithe form as she got down on her knees and bent to put on the CD. Herself, she was wishing that Betty's Christmas present was already present so that she could have just operated the remote. She started the CD, programming the particular order they liked to listen to the tunes in. The familiar strains of *Willow Weep For Me* emitted from the speakers. "That's lovely. I always enjoyed this song." Sally mused, closing her eyes a moment to listen. "You know this song?" Andrea asked. "Yes, my parents used to play it when I was a little girl." Sally said. "I always liked it too. Would you care to dance?" John asked Sally. Sally looked uncomfortable a moment, then looked over at her daughter. "Sure, why not. It's obvious that they've danced to this many times." Sally said, getting to her feet. They had barely joined hands when Andrea turned to Cindy, who happily obliged her. Denise and Betty watched for a moment, then got caught up in the swing of things. Soon there were three couples on the floor. The women suppressing the urge to caress parts they normally did when they danced to this music. After the first song, John asked his daughter to dance. Andrea blushed, but happily danced the upbeat song with her father. Cindy tagged Denise. Betty turned to Sally, who seemed a bit uncomfortable about dancing with a woman. "We can sit this one out if you'd rather." Betty offered, easily. "No, let's dance." Sally said, moving into her arms. Betty kept them distant enough to keep Sally at ease. The song was upbeat. Betty leading. Sally used to following. On the next song, Andrea tagged her mother. John tagged Cindy. Betty and Denise moved back together. It was a bit slower song. Sally enjoyed it despite herself. Keeping whatever it instilled in her to herself. By the end of the CD, everyone had danced with everyone. They were all having a jovial time. Finally, Denise put on an easy listening Montreux album from the eighties. They retired to the fire pit area, sipping on a second cup of coffee. "That was fun. We haven't been dancing in a long time. So few places where you can go to dance like that nowadays. I've missed it." John said. "Yes, thank you so much for inviting us. We've had a wonderful time." Sally said. "No need to rush off. We've enjoyed your company." Betty said. "I'm afraid that in spite of the coffee I'm feeling a bit lethargic." John said. "My fault. This is decaff. We don't generally drink regular coffee in the evenings." Denise said. "For decaff, this is quite good. Where do you get it?" Sally asked. "That *Gourmet Express* take out place has several varieties of decaffeinated beans. We just grind what we need. We ground these before you arrived so all we had to do was turn on the pot." Betty said. "Their food is excellent as well." Denise said. "Beware the charming owner." Cindy quipped. "Charming owner?" Sally asked. "I took her there the night we had the formal party here to pick up the food. The owner was quite flattering toward us." Denise said. "I never felt so elegant before in my whole life. Several of his employees just came out and stared at us." Cindy said, blushing. "I remember that night quite clearly." Andrea said, "You were all the most beautiful women I had ever seen before." "It was very elegant, up to when I almost spoiled it by inviting June." Denise said. "It was still very elegant. That was the first night we all danced to that CD." Betty said. Andrea was thinking about that night. Without realizing it, she was becoming misty eyed. Cindy pulled her close to her and kissed her cheek in support. Andrea smiled and snuggled to her. Sally knew there were things about that night that they weren't being told. She realized that whatever it was had had a profound effect upon her daughter. She reasoned that it was for the better. She finished up her coffee. "Well, love. Shall we call it a night and let these folks get to bed?" she said to John. "Oh, we're likely to be up for a while anyway. I'd be happy to make you some real coffee." Denise offered. "No. Thank you anyway. I think it is time we were going. I thank you for a lovely evening. You have a very elegant home. I'm quite pleased with both the place and the company that Andrea will be staying with." John said, getting to his feet. They all got up. Andrea hugged her parents tightly. Sally and John made a point of hugging everyone. Betty got their wraps for them and tripped the gate control to let them out. It turned out that it was snowing outside when they opened the door. "Goodness. It's a good thing we're leaving now. We might have gotten stuck here." Sally said, looking at the storm. "We have a guest room and you are quite welcome to stay if you feel uncomfortable driving." Betty offered. "No. It doesn't look too bad. I think we'll brave it. There isn't much traffic out, I'm sure and it's not far. We'll just take it slow and easy. I think we'll be alright." John said. "Have you got a cellular phone with you, to call for help if you need it?" Denise asked, looking at the storm. "No, but I think we'll be alright." John said. "Nonsense. Andrea, why don't you loan them your phone for the night. He can bring it back tomorrow." Denise requested. "Of course." Andrea said, running to get it. She was back in a flash, checking the battery. She slid a second pack on it, which was fully charged and handed it to her father. "Thanks pumpkin. Well, I guess I'll see you all in the morning." John said. "If the roads are too bad, then don't come. We're not in a race here. We've got lots else we can putter around at. We've got lots of walls to hang wall board on." Betty said. "Yes, from the looks of it, we may even cancel our Saturday run. But call us in the morning and we'll see how it looks." Denise said. "You sure you don't want to stay here? That's exactly what the guest room is for and it looks bad out there." Betty said. "I think we'll give driving a shot. If it's too bad then we'll turn back." John said. "Okay, but promise you will turn back if it's too slick?" Andrea asked, worried over her parents. "Yes, we promise dear." Sally said, kissing her daughter good-night. "Even if you make it okay, give us a call to let us know you are alright." Denise insisted. "We will. Goodnight all. And thank you for a lovely time." John said, leading his wife by the arm. Even walking was slick, but the made it to the car okay. John started the car, cleaned off the windows and then pulled out slowly. Betty and the others stepped inside shivering after watching them drive off. Betty left the gate open so it wouldn't get snowed shut. "Quite a storm. I wished the deck roof was shut but you haven't wired it in yet." Betty said. Denise donned her coat and changed her shoes. "Where are you going?" Betty asked. "To shut your deck roof. I'll just use the extension cord to shut it. I can wire it in temporarily." Denise said, heading for the deck. "Isn't that dangerous, with as wet as this stuff is?" Andrea asked. "No, I'll plug into a GFI outlet. All the outlets onto the deck are GFI. Any moisture shorts will just shut it down." Denise said. Cindy put on her coat and changed her shoes to tag along. Soon Denise was standing on a ladder in a snow storm, pushing wires into the end of the extension cord. "Okay, Cindy. Plug it in." Denise called. Cindy plugged the cord into the outlet on the deck wall and the roof motor spun into action. Next thing the roof sections started to roll. The motor was powerful enough it pushed snow off the track as it moved. When all sections were closed, a limit switch kicked in and shut it off. "Okay, unplug it." Denise called. Cindy unplugged the cord and Denise climbed down the ladder. Several inches of snow sat on the deck in banded white stripes. It looked almost comical. Even so, it was better than the foot of snow that would fall before morning. They were just brushing the snow off themselves when the door bell rang. John and Sally were back. "We decided we'd better take you up on your offer of the guest room when we saw the car in front of us spin off into the ditch." Sally said. "Goodness. Are they alright?" Betty asked, ushering them inside. "Yes, they were a little shaken up is all. We used the Cellular phone to call assistance for them. They only had to go another block to get home anyway. The roads are really slick and ugly. I almost fell on my ass when I got out to check on them." John said. "Well come in and sit by the fire and get warm. I'll make us some hot chocolate." Denise said, removing her coat. "We're sorry to impose like this. But it really is dangerous out there." Sally said, removing her coat. "Oh, don't be silly. It's no imposition at all. We'd much rather know you were here safe." Denise said, hanging up her coat. "I'm kind of worried about Bobby though. He doesn't answer the phone. There's no way to let him know that we are alright." Sally said. "Yes there is. Follow me." Denise said. She led Sally to the library. There she sat down and called up the E-mail program. She composed a letter to Bobby explaining that his parents had been caught unawares by the storm and that they would be spending the night at Betty's. If he needed anything he should send an E-mail message to Denise's address. Denise sent the message to Bobby's E-mail address and received confirmation it was received by his account. "There. We know he reads his E-mail. Now he knows you are safe and can send us a message if he needs to." Denise said, shutting down her monitor. "How can you know if he needs anything. If your computer is off?" Sally fretted. "It's not off. Just the monitor is off. I set it to check my E-mail every twenty minutes for the night. It will beep at me if I get any incoming mail." Denise said, guiding Sally to the fireplace. "Thank you. I do feel better knowing he knows we're alright. I hope he reads the message though." Sally said, still fretting. "I'm sure he'll be fine. He is a big boy, you know." Betty said. Andrea and Cindy had already made hot chocolate all around. Andrea gave a cup to her mother and sat next to her with her own. She could tell that her mother was still fretting. "So where did you two go? You had your coats on when we came back in?" John asked. "Oh, Cindy and I went out to temporarily wire into the deck roof mechanism to roll it shut." Denise explained. "Wasn't that dangerous?" Sally asked. "Not really. We ran it off a GFI outlet. If there had been a short, it would have safely shut it off." Denise replied, sipping her hot chocolate. Betty added another log to the fireplace. A few moments later it burst into flames adding a warm glow to the area. "I quite like that fireplace. I may add one to our place." John said. "Yes, it would work well as a retro-fit fireplace." Denise said, "Why don't you take off your tie and relax." John chuckled, pulled off his tie and opened his collar. "That does feel better. I get so used to it, I just forget I have it on." he said. "Well, take off your shoes and put your feet up to get warm too. You aren't going anywhere tonight. In fact, not in the morning until we get out the snow blower to clear the drive." Betty chuckled, kicking off her own shoes to make them feel comfortable. "We don't wish to keep you up. Perhaps we should turn in?" John said. "Nonsense. I told you we would likely be up a while. If we get tired we'll just go off to bed. You know where the guest room is. When you feel like it, just find your own way. There are clean towels in the bath and clean bedding on the bed. I know Denise and Cindy changed it just yesterday morning." Betty said. "I'll see if I can find you some PJ's Sally. I think the best we can do for John is a robe though." Denise said, heading upstairs. "Oh, don't go to any trouble for us." Sally called after her. "No trouble at all. I want to change myself." Denise called back. Cindy followed her up. Once in the bedroom she kissed Denise passionately. "This should be interesting." she mused. "I see no problem at all. As long as we keep it quiet. I do think they would be more comfortable if you girls changed into some conservative sleep clothes. How about your work tights with a flannel night shirt top?" Denise suggested. Cindy smiled at her and changed into the outfit she suggested. It was quite toasty warm and suitable for the night. "I fully intend to lose the tights later." Cindy chuckled. "I fully intend to help you." Denise replied, kissing her again before they headed down. "That looks toasty." Andrea said, looking at Cindy. "Yes, Denise suggested it." Cindy said, sitting by her. "Think I'll change into the same. I'm a bit chilly in this dress." Andrea said, heading up the stairs. "Here, Sally. One set of flannel PJ's. I think this robe will fit you, John. Why don't you go change too if you'd like, Betty." Denise suggested. She had on a light robe over her own PJ's. The effect was not unpleasant to those around her, but wasn't immodest. "Thank you. I think I will. This dress is a bit breezy. The sight of the snow has given me a chill." Betty said, heading up the stairs behind Andrea. There they played out much the same scene that Denise and Cindy had. They came back down much warmer. Not all from their attire. They were just settling in when a beeping was heard from the other room. "What's that?" Sally asked in alarm. "Just my E-mail. Probably a confirmation from Bobby that he got our message." Denise said, heading for the library. Sally was hot on her heels. Denise hoped that Bobby had remained conservative in his message. She called up the screen and read the message. "*Got your message. Had noticed heavy snow earlier. Have been worried about folks. Glad they are safe. See them tomorrow some time. Am alright by self. Tell mom not to worry. Love, Bobby.*" Denise turned the monitor toward Sally to read the message, but she had already read it over her shoulder. She had tears in her eyes. She sat down heavily in another chair. Denise took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "I'm sorry. Except for him printing out that schedule for Betty, and the message he sent you about his programming question. This is the first personal communication I've seen from him since he got back from the war." Sally said, weeping. Denise reached out and sent the message to the printer. She also saved it to her hard drive and a floppy disk. She handed the message and the floppy to Sally, who took it with trembling fingers. Tears ran down her cheeks. Denise got to her feet and pulled Sally up into an embrace. Sally found herself weeping against Denise. John came in, concerned. Denise gently pulled the message from Sally's fingers and handed it to him without comment. John read it and nodded. Sally seemed to notice him and moved from Denise's arms to his. Denise quietly slipped out of the room to give them some privacy. "What's going on?" Betty asked as Denise wearily sat down and retrieved her hot chocolate. "Message from Bobby. Sally's just a little overwhelmed by it. It's the first personal communication she's seen from him since he got back from the war." Denise said, quietly. "What did he say?" Andrea asked. Denise repeated the message to her. Andrea nodded. "Yes, I can see that affecting mom that way." she said, thoughtfully. "Perhaps I should check on them?" Betty asked. "I'd give them a few moments to themselves." Denise said. Betty nodded. She pulled Andrea to her and kissed her tenderly. "I think a hot buttered rum is in order for mom." Andrea said when she pulled back. "That's a great idea. Why don't I put the kettle on and make us all one." Denise said, moving to get up. "No, you sit back and relax. I'll get it." Andrea said. She turned back and kissed Betty before getting up. Then made the rounds and kissed all the others. "I want to thank all of you.... for tonight... and for everything. I love you all very deeply." she said, turning toward the kitchen. Cindy kissed Denise on the cheek and then moved to follow Andrea. After Andrea put on the kettle, Cindy pulled her into her arms and kissed her softly. "That was just to let you know that we love *you* very deeply too." Cindy said, softly. Andrea found herself hugging Cindy tightly. Betty kissed Denise and then moved to check on the Billings. She found Sally still clinging to John, but calmer now. "Are you okay?" Betty asked. Sally nodded and turned to pull Betty into an embrace. She hugged her tightly to her. Betty hugged back. "I think I'll go turn down our bed." John said. "Andrea is making us all a hot buttered rum." Betty said as he left. John smiled and nodded. Slipping out of the room. Sally continued to hug Betty. "I know that there is more to it than you're telling me. I know that you are protecting me. But I want you to know... I'm grateful to all of you for what you are doing. I'm content that you are dealing with things as best they can be dealt with." Sally said, still hugging her. Betty was quiet for a moment, formulating her response. "I once promised you that I would see to the welfare of both your son and your daughter. I meant what I said. I promise you I will do what I feel is best for their well being and happiness." she said. Sally kind of shivered against her. "I know you will. I'm very glad you are going to be part of my family." she said, hugging Betty to her. They stood for a long time, just hugging each other. Then Sally lifted her head and kissed Betty full on the lips. It wasn't a friendly kiss, but it wasn't a sexual one either. It was just a sincere thank you. Betty accepted it as such. They hugged each other a bit longer. "Why don't you go climb into those PJ's that Denise got you. I brought down my heavy robe for you too. You can sip on that hot buttered rum and then call it a night." Betty suggested. "Yes.. that sounds good. And thank you." Sally said. "I think you just said that in that kiss." Betty said, softly. Sally looked at her and smiled. Then made her way to the guest room. Betty got the PJ's and robe and took them into her. Knocking lightly before entering. Sally was half undressed but bid her enter anyway. Betty handed over the clothes and slipped out. John came behind her, wearing the robe Denise had loaned him. "Sorry we don't have any slippers your size." Betty mused. "I'll just keep my socks on. This is fine. I want to thank you for making us feel so comfortable." John said. "The least I can do for my future in-law's." Betty chuckled. "Yes... but thank you for everything anyway." John persisted. Betty nodded her *you're welcome*, smiling at him. They moved to sit by the fire. Andrea was just serving the hot buttered rum when Sally came out, dressed in the PJ's with the robe on top. She seemed a bit calmer. "Wherever did you find PJ's with feet in them?" she asked Denise, accepting the drink from Andrea and giving her a quick hug as thanks. "Mail order. I think you could probably find them on the Internet now." Denise said, sipping at the wonderful drink. "You can shop on the Internet?" Sally asked, sipping at her own. "Yes. But I'm still not comfortable sending them my credit card number over it. Most places have 800 numbers you can call. I select what I want from their on-line catalog and then call them with my card number. That way I know nobody is intercepting it." Denise said. "That sound prudent. I guess it's a good thing that we will have more money if you are going to be shopping on the Internet." John chuckled. "I don't follow." Sally said. "I've had further contact with the firm interested in purchasing my company. Seems that they are serious about buying it. They're going to give us all a paid leave starting on the fifteenth while a firm of independent auditors come in and inventory the place." John said, looking at Betty, but not too blatantly. "Does this mean you'll be out of work?" Sally asked, a bit alarmed. "No. They've told me they wish me to stay on to run the place. In fact they want the whole staff to stay on. What it will do however, is to give me more freedom to take time off. I'm quite looking forward to that." John said. "Are you receiving a fair price for it?" Denise asked. "I can't speak specifically of how much. But I'm very pleased. They've made a very fair offer. Quite generous in fact. I have no qualms about accepting it. Especially as I know my staff will be cared for." John said. "That's great." Betty said. Andrea looked at Betty in a clandestine manner and smiled at her. She didn't wish to give it away to Denise, but she was quite certain who was purchasing the company. Sally was too. She tried not to look at Betty. Less certain of not giving it away. "Are you quite certain that they will keep your staff on?" Denise asked, "They aren't just saying that until they get control of the company?" "Quite certain. They are putting it in the contract. I will retain full control over the staff as long as I choose to remain with the company. I think the only real change will be the eventual addition of a chief scientist to give the lab a little direction in new product development. The right person for such a position is difficult to locate. I suspect they have someone in mind that is perfect for the position." John said, fighting his smirk. "Will you have any say over this person, or will they force them on you?" Denise asked. "I will have a say in it, yes. I'll know if it's the right person. They aren't forcing anybody on me." John said, "And by the way. Your work is secure with us. Your security program is one of our hottest sellers and I expect it to remain so for quite some time. That royalty check you received is just the first of many. I think you can expect four or five of those a year." "Goodness! That's more than I make as a teacher! Twice as much!" Denise gasped. "I offered you that much when we first met." John said. "But for an active position. Not just for royalties" Denise said. "There's no *just for royalties* about it. You did good work on that package. You've earned whatever you get. We're making a bundle off you." John said. "Looks like I get to be married to two rich ladies." Cindy said, kissing Denise on the cheek. "Even richer if she turns out that other package she's working on." John said. "That will take a month or two, I fear. I haven't got a clue what it will be like to match formats with all those software packages. It might end up as too large a program to remain compatible with the old DOS and the new systems too. Let alone spanning multiple systems. Most new desktops use Windows 98. I guess pretty much all the new computers do too. I'm not real happy about that. I think Microsoft writes crap software. We're just stuck with it. I've been expecting someone to write a decent operating system that will knock them off the face of the earth. But perhaps it's too late for that. They've got us firmly in their grip." Denise said. "Perhaps that person will be you." John offered. "Not likely. You're talking about many, many thousands of man-hours to develop such a system. It's not really something one person could do." Denise chuckled. "Would you know how to go about such a task, if you had the right people to back you up?" Betty asked. "Oh... I guess so. I know what things I don't like about the Microsoft systems. That's where I'd start. The hardest part is to remain compatible with current software while curing the problems. Microsoft has firm patents on their operating systems. You'd almost have to use part of their system, or end up paying them copious royalties to use their commands, even if you did rewrite the whole thing from the ground up to cure the problems." Denise said. "What's wrong with their systems anyway?" John asked. "Well... it's like the whole thing is based upon a foundation of the earliest PC's. It's like the chain is only as strong as it's weakest link. To offer backwards compatibility with the earliest software designed to run on eight bit machines, then you lose performance gained by the hardware advances. Even they are being held back by the software stranglehold. I've always been a fan of the Motorola hardware instead of the INTEL systems. Back in the eighties I had an ATARI-ST computer that I could download a program on while I listened to Bach on the internal synthesizer and played with my art program all at the same time. Full multi-tasking. It's just *now* that the new INTEL/Microsoft machines have anywhere near that capability. They've sort of made up for the drawbacks by the increase in hardware. I just drool over what that hardware increase could do with a proper operating system." Denise said. "But didn't Apple use the Motorola chips? Yet the public has soured on their products." John asked. "True, that was Apple's fault. HP made the same mistake. They both tried to control both sides of things. Instead of offering their operating systems cheaply and openly to after market developers, they tried to keep it all in house. To force customers to buy expensive applications from them. There is no way that a hardware manufacture can maintain an internal software team that could begin to match the after market capability. On the other hand, Microsoft sold their systems cheap. They published as much information about them as was available. As a result of that, literally millions of after market developers jumped on the bandwagon and developed applications that ran on the system. The public responded to the glut of dirt cheap applications for the DOS/INTEL systems. That machine became the standard. Not because it was superior, but because you could buy a decent art program for under a hundred dollars. It didn't cost you several thousand dollars just to set up a reasonably versatile system for home or business applications. You saw much the same thing in the war between the BETA and VHS video standards. Technically, the BETA was a far superior standard. But the public went with VHS because -at the then current state of development- you could put a whole movie on one cassette with VHS." Denise said. "Yes, I remember that battle. The TV stations still use the BETA format machines for professional recording quality." John said. Sally had been listening, as much as she could follow the conversation, but now the magic of the Hot Buttered rum started to work on her. She found herself nodding off. John seemed to notice his wife's state. "I think we better turn in love. You're almost asleep sitting up." he said. Sally shook her head as if to clear it. "I'm sorry. I'm just suddenly tired." she said. "That's the magic of hot buttered rum. The most devastating drink on the planet." Denise said, "Go ahead, turn if you'd like. I suspect we'll be going down shortly ourselves." "I think we'll do that." John said, getting to his feet and reaching back to pull Sally to hers. "If you are up before us in the morning, just help yourself to the kitchen. Feel free to make yourself at home. Use the shower or even the hot tub if you'd like." Betty said. "Thank you. I don't know about the hot tub. But we'll probably use the shower. Thank you for a lovely evening and your hospitality. Good night now." John said, guiding Sally toward the guest room. Sally retained enough consciousness to thank everybody again and wish everybody a good night before John guided her to bed. "Great idea, Andrea." Denise said, kissing her softly. "Mmm thank you. I feel I'm a victim of my own devices though." Andrea said, sleepily. "Mm me too." Cindy mused. "Why don't you two go on up. We'll be up in a bit." Denise offered. "Mmm okay. Don't be long. You're liable to find two sleeping bodies." Cindy said, helping Andrea to her feet. "We won't be long, but kiss me now just in case." Denise said, getting up. Cindy lip locked her and kissed her passionately. Then did the same to Betty as Andrea moved to Denise. Andrea next moved to Betty and then let Cindy guide her up the stairs. Denise moved to sit next to Betty. "I'd say the night was a success, love." Denise said, leaning against Betty. "Mm. Yes." Betty said, distantly. "What's wrong love?" Denise asked. "Oh... Nothing really. Sally made comment in the other room that she knew that there was more than she was being told, and that she thought we were protecting her." Betty said, quietly. "Did she now. Any question about what she was referring to?" Denise asked, softly. "Nope. Not much." Betty said. "And what did you tell her?" Denise asked, keeping her voice down. "I told her that I had made her a promise to see after the welfare of both her son and her daughter. That intended to keep that promise. That I would do what I thought was best for their happiness and welfare." Betty replied, snuggling to Denise. "And she said?" Denise asked. "She said.. She knew I would. That she was glad that I was going to be part of her family." Betty said, wearily. "So that sounds encouraging." Denise offered. "Yes... Just sometimes it seems like we've taken on a more than we know how to handle. I wanted to be fully honest with her. But I knew she was dealing with it the best she knew how already. My talking openly with her would only have made it worse." Betty said. "Well love. We all have our limits. We all deal with them the best way we can. If you feel it's too much for you... I'll understand if you wish to back away from part of it." Denise offered. "No. I don't want to do that. I love those girls as much as you. I wouldn't feel whole without them. I realize that Bobby's just part of that equation for the time being. Fact is that I want him myself. It's you that I worry most about. I know that you are carrying this whole thing upon your shoulders. I've heard it said that a person has to balance things the best they can. But if the scale collapses from the total burden then it accomplishes nothing." Betty said. "I'm alright. I don't feel over burdened. I'll let you know if I start to feel that way. In the mean time I think we should hit the sack. I think there's two young ladies up there who are doing their best to keep their eyes open waiting for us. If they've been successful this long." Denise said, getting to her feet and offering her hand back to Betty. Betty took it and got to her feet. She used the hand to pull Denise into a warm embrace. "I do love you ever so much. I don't know if I'm up to showing you how much tonight. Mostly I just want to feel you in my arms all night." she said, lifting her head to find Denise's lips. They kissed long and softly. "That sounds just perfect. Let me carry these mugs over to the sink so that Sally won't be tempted to clean up after us in the morning." Denise said. "I'll help. In fact, lets load the dishwasher so she won't wash them in the morning." Betty said, tagging behind. They got the dishwasher loaded, but didn't run it so they wouldn't disturb anybody. It could be heard from the guest room. They shut down the lights, leaving one on over the stove. Denise checked the doors and then they went upstairs arm in arm. The girls were out cold in each others arms. The nightshirts and tights discarded. Denise and Betty stripped off theirs and each made pit stops to brush their teeth and use the john. Then they crawled in the other side of the bed and snuggled together. Denise reached for the laptop and set the outside alarm. Switching the settings to deal with the snow. The system took it in stride. Denise shut the laptop and set it aside and turned off the lamp. Betty pulled her back into her arms and hugged her to her. They shared one last long sensual kiss before drifting off to sleep. During the night, the girls each woke up and used the bathroom. Each climbed in in their usual sleeping position afterwards. By morning they had all shifted positions as if they had gone to bed that way. ------------------------------------- Sally clung to her husband when they got into bed. She kind of quivered against him as he wrapped his arms around her. He mistook it for her being cold. "Hey now. You that cold." he asked, quietly. "No, I'm not cold." she said. "Then what's wrong? Are you that upset about Bobby?" he asked, instantly alarmed. "No... Please, make love to me." she said. "Anytime, you know that. What's got you so upset?" he asked. "For some reason I just need you very much at this moment. I can't explain it." Sally said, distantly. John knew better than to push it when she got that way. Over the years he had seen her that way many times. He didn't always find out the reason. But he knew making love with her would calm her. His lips found hers hungry for him. The PJ's didn't last long. Sally was still in great shape for a woman in her late forties. It wasn't a chore at all for John to be sincerely amorous. When it came, Sally's release was profound and well needed. She slipped easily into sleep as John softly caressed her body, now damp with perspiration. Chapter Twenty-five Sally lay snuggled in her husbands arms. A light smile on her face as the light grew through the bedroom window. The events of the previous night came flooding back to her as well as the knowledge she had deduced over the past few weeks. But somehow this morning she had come to terms with it. It was no longer the dark terror that it had been hidden in the back of her mind. Now she could examine it more closely without feeling the stabbing anguish it had evoked. *Incest*; A nasty word to society. One of the nastiest that they knew. The mere rumor of it could ruin a persons life, be they the perpetrator, or a victim. Sally was fairly certain that Bobby and Andrea had been indulging in it. Perhaps not often. But once was bad enough. She thought back over the past few years to when she had seen changes happening in Andrea's behavior. The first incident had probably occurred three years previous when she had accompanied John on a week long business trip. Andrea had been just thirteen then. Her breasts just beginning to develop. Innocent and pure. How anybody could have violated such innocence was beyond her, but she didn't really blame Bobby for it. She suspected - rightly- that if it really had occurred, that it had something to do with his torture. Perhaps he experienced some sort of traumatic flashback. Whatever the reason, it wasn't like the Bobby she had known before he had gone off to the war. He had been kind and loving, respectful of her and John, benevolent towards his little sister. It was unfathomable to conceive of him ever knowingly harming her or even letting harm come to her from others. But for some reason he had. Or so Sally surmised. For some reason he had engaged Andrea in a sexual relationship. A relationship that had continued, perhaps even only as seldom as when both her and John were out of town, but continued none the less. A relationship that Andrea wished to continue. Perhaps it was that relationship which had driven her to her relationships with women. There had been mention that when she and Cindy broke up it was because Andrea had somehow abused her. She had stated herself that she would never let that happen again. Somehow that made some sort of ragged sense. Bobby had been badly abused at the hands of his captors. It was quite common for someone who had been badly abused to abuse someone else later in life. The Viet Cong abused Bobby, Bobby had abused Andrea, and Andrea had abused Cindy. It all logically fit. Perhaps that abuse would have continued, but it was discovered by two very caring individuals who put a stop to it. Individuals who had turned Andrea's life around, almost before her eyes. Who had changed Cindy's life and who were now going about changing her son's life. Andrea wanted to continue her relationship with Bobby. She shared a very deep relationship with Betty, who also wanted a relationship with Bobby. The answer was obvious. Andrea wasn't just sharing Betty with Bobby. She was sharing Bobby with Betty. And if that were so... That explained almost everything. She could tell that Betty wanted to explain it all to her, but was afraid it would hurt her. So where did the others fit in? Cindy had been a victim of Andrea's abuse. Probably seduced or even raped by her sometime in the past. Yet it was clear that Cindy loved Andrea very much. She also held a visibly strong relationship with Denise. In fact all the women did. They almost held her in reverence. Almost worshipping her as a goddess. Denise was undoubtedly the one who had recognized the facts of the situation and set about righting the wrongs that she had seen. Sally had no doubt that she was acting in the best possible interests of her children. Children... that was funny. Both were fully grown. Andrea was a stunning young woman. Bright, beautiful and sexy. She seemed to become more of each with each passing year. Bobby was a fully grown man. Now past thirty years old. [Authors note: I've figured out that the ages really don't work out right in this story, but they are to ingrained and randomly spread out to correct them. Doing so would also detract greatly from the story line. Andrea would not have been born at all, let alone have been a young girl when Bobby went off to war. Bobby would have to be in his mid to late forties. So just try to ignore them. Sorry. Deana] Bobby had been a mistake that her and John had made when they were young. Only she never thought of him as a mistake. He was just the reason John and her had married when they had. They hadn't really wanted any more children after him. But another slip had resulted in Andrea some years later. Now she was almost sixteen. To insure that no further slip ups occurred, Sally had her tubes tied when she had Andrea. In respect for her decision, John had his tied also. Just as Bobby would have his tied.... Out of respect for his sister? Sally wondered. Probably as a condition for allowing his relationship with Andrea to continue, dictated to him by Denise and Betty. It was clearly understood that the biggest danger of an incestuous relationship was a deformed or backwards child. So they were removing the possibility of that happening. And if that occurred, did that make it alright? Wasn't the very foundation of the taboo against incest to reduce the possibility of a deformed child? If that possibility did not exist, then did that make it alright? Sally wasn't sure. She realized that beyond that, that the greatest danger from incest was the trauma resulting from social pressure..... *Thus the relationship between Bobby and Betty!* *Bingo!* That was it! It was the perfect disguise! Nobody would give a second thought to Andrea being around Bobby if he was visibly involved with another woman. Further, it would disguise Andrea's relationship with Betty. That Betty seemed to be genuinely interested in Bobby probably only helped the situation. So... in review of the apparent facts: Bobby had abused Andrea, who had abused Cindy. Denise had somehow discovered both situations. She had become involved with Betty first, then Cindy, then Andrea. It was she who sent Andrea to Betty. Those two had fallen in love. Perhaps it was those two who came up with the idea of Betty and Bobby becoming involved. But it was all working! Andrea was more stable, respectful, studious, loving and *happy* than she had been ever in her life. Cindy was happy. It seemed that Betty and Denise were happy. Bobby was showing signs of pulling out of his self-imposed seclusion. He seemed happier. Between Denise's entrepreneurship and Betty's vast inheritance there was certainly financial backing to make it work. That's what the building extension was all about. It provided a place for all to live as they wished to live, while projecting a reasonably respectable face to the rest of the world. So why mess with success? For whatever reasons it all had started. People who honestly cared about her children were taking steps to insure their future happiness. Sally wasn't about to fool with that. Andrea obviously knew about the plan to allow her to continue her relationship with Bobby. She didn't seem upset about it. In fact she was working her cute little tail off to make it a reality. In all likelihood, she had helped plan it. For whatever reason it had started, Andrea was very much in love with Bobby. Perhaps that happiness wouldn't last. But it was being given every opportunity to last. That wasn't so different from what the rest of the world did. In the meantime, Andrea was happy. Bobby was coming out of his shell and Sally was scheduled to gain three very fine daughters in law. For now she would let it be. Sally wasn't even that puzzled over Andrea's interest in women. Over the years, Sally had found herself attracted at times to other women. In truth, she found Betty very attractive. The kiss she had given her the night before had not been as innocent as she had intended it to be. It had affected her very profoundly. That was the real reason she had been so hungry for John's touch the night before. She was turned on as much as she had ever been and it had scared her quite badly. It scared her almost as much when the kiss was on her mind as she climaxed. The climax was as deep as she had ever felt at John's loving hands, and John was a *very talented* lover! At the moment he was sleeping peacefully beside her. He had outdone himself the night before. Responding honestly to the passion that he had encountered. John was a very handsome man. Sally knew that he could have had any number of outside relationships. He could have replaced her as a body in a heartbeat. With any number of younger, more attractive women. But he had steadfastly remained loyal and faithful to her. Sally suspected that years before John had indulged in a short affair with a woman. Sally had never said a word about it, and John seemed to come to his senses by himself. In return, Sally had tried to keep herself fit and appealing to him. She was always open to him sexually. Even instigating sex herself when she wasn't exactly in the mood. But she never had to fake her responses to him. They were honestly felt. He was a virile, sexy man. He had always been an outstanding provider for them. He was attentive to her needs, affectionate and loving. Sally worshipped him. She was actually willing -and able- to overlook any number of indiscretions on his part. But he hadn't given her reason to. Save the one incident many years before that he had extracted himself from. The only reason she had even suspected it was that John had suddenly become extra attentive and loving toward her. Perhaps as a result of his conscience. Indeed, Sally had succumbed herself to an outside affair. Perhaps in response to John's sudden amorous bout and the suspected cause. What Sally had learned, was that she had what she wanted at home. Even had he been blatantly and frequently unfaithful to her. Which he wasn't. But now a different kind of desire was growing in Sally. Perhaps it was based upon her daughters involvement with the other women. Sally had thought about the relationships an awful lot of late. She had pictured in her mind what it would be like. At this very moment her daughter was snuggled to three beautiful women who loved her very deeply. Women who were undoubtedly highly skilled in the art of loving another woman. The thought was not without it's affect upon Sally. She had to admit to herself that she desired to know what it was like to be loved by a woman. She bent her head up and softly kissed her husbands cheek, then she slipped gently out of bed. She used the bathroom and then donned Betty's robe over her nude body. The house was warm and mostly carpeted. She didn't need slippers or to re-don the footed PJ's. She made her way to the kitchen and found the coffee fixings. She wrapped a towel around the coffee grinder while she ran it. Then dumped the fresh ground beans into a fresh filter in the basket. Sally looked around and found the kitchen and living room spotless. She was a bit disappointed by that. She had thought that maybe she could clean up a bit as partial repayment for the hospitality that Betty had shown her the night before. She started the coffee and then moved over to the fireplace. She found it still warm. Inside she could see hot coals glowing red in a bed of white ash. The fireplace was very efficient in extracting the last erg of heat from a piece of wood. She opened the door and added a few pieces of wood and then looked at the damper controls. She moved the control to let air into the firebox and a short time later the wood she had added began to smoke and then burst into flame. When the coffee was through dripping, she poured herself a cup and then carried it back to the fire. She was sitting there enjoying it when Denise came down the stairs, now clad in just the light robe and slippers. "Good morning. An early riser I see." Denise said, jovially. "Yes, sometimes. Good morning to you." Sally replied. "Did you sleep well?" Denise asked, moving to pour herself a cup of coffee. "Yes, very well thank you. And yourself?" Sally asked as Denise moved to join her by the fire. "Yes, quite well. I think we all went out like a light last night. Betty and I picked up before we went to bed and the girls were out cold by the time we went upstairs." Denise said. "I'm sorry we kept you up so late." Sally said, thinking she had deprived them of some loving. "Not at all. You didn't keep us up at all. We quite enjoyed your company. I seriously doubt that we would have made it to bed any earlier had you not been here. I think that it was just a combination of all the work we did yesterday combined with the magic effects of the hot buttered rum." Denise chuckled. "You're very kind to say so." Sally said. "I'm not just being kind. I generally say what I mean. We honestly enjoyed your company last night, as I do right now." Denise said. Sally looked at her and found only sincerity. "Yes, I believe that about you. You're a very dynamic person. I can see why the others feel the way they do about you. Why my daughter loves you so much....." Sally said, trailing off. "Something on your mind?" Denise asked. "Yes... I think you know what it is too." Sally said. Denise sighed and nodded, sipping at her coffee. "Yes... Your perception of the situation was always a possibility. I've been expecting it a bit." she said. "Well, to put your mind at ease. I'm not going to interfere with things. At this point -for whatever reason it all started- I'm content that it's being handled in the best possible manner." Sally said. "That's kind of you to say so. Also remarkably understanding of you." Denise said, a bit surprised. "I'm like you in that respect; It's not just kind of me to say so. It's how I really feel. But in return for that I would like some information to help me understand things a little better." Sally said. "Yes, you deserve that. What would you like to know?" Denise asked. "How it all started." Sally said, simply. Denise seemed uncomfortable a moment. "It's difficult. Having not clearly defined what we are talking about, I am hesitant to explain it. I may be addressing something to which you are totally unaware. Something that could be very painful for you." she said. Sally nodded. She solved the dilemma by a single spoken word: "Incest." Denise sighed and nodded. "Alright. We're talking about the same thing. Fact is that there isn't much else that you probably don't know about. That's the only situation that would possibly carry this much importance...... The best that I've been able to reconstruct the events....." Denise began. She told Sally the whole story. Leaving nothing out. She tried to tell it chronologically, but she backtracked to fill in areas that had occurred simultaneously. She didn't get overly graphic when she told of the lovemaking. But she did supply enough details for Sally to fully understand each segment of the story. Exactly how fanatical and devoted Andrea had been. The extent of her treatment of Cindy. What had triggered Cindy's suicide attempt. The week Cindy had spent with her. Her own history and how she had met Jenny. The story of how Andrea had come to her. Then the complete story that Andrea had revealed to her. How she had made tapes of the story and given them to Jenny to study. Her own observations, the degree of her own involvement at each stage. She left out nothing that would help Sally understand exactly how everybody felt and why. At times, Sally cried. After a bit Denise took a break and renewed their coffee. Then she continued with the story until Sally was fully up to date. She then went back and filled in details as Sally questioned her on different aspects of the story. By the time they were finished, Sally was calmer again. She sat for a long time thoughtfully sipping at her coffee. "I understand now... about some of the comments that Betty has made about you. You really are something else. You've risked an awful lot you didn't have to. I understand now what she meant about you carrying the world on your shoulders." she said. "It is not without it's reward. In the process, I've gained far beyond my wildest dreams. I've won the devoted love of three outstanding hearts. I've helped bring happiness to all involved... with the possible exception of June. And that was mostly her own doing." Denise said. "You are taking an even further risk by telling me all this." Sally noted. "I don't think so. I think that your primary motivation is the happiness and well being of your children. As such, you can see the logic of what we are doing. Your desire to see both your children happy and secure forces you to look beyond the normal conventions. You are not one of the sheep. You know where the foundation for the taboo exists, and how we are addressing that. There will be no offspring, *period*. Without that certainty, I wouldn't even attempt to try what we are. In fact, I don't really expect that relationship to continue. But for the time being, I think it's the best way to handle things. They are both part of each others therapy, as Andrea and Cindy were an integral part of each others. It's all interconnected. It all has the same root cause, which was Bobby's torture at the hands of the Viet Cong. Living here, he will have to deal with that. This isn't a refuge from the world or reality. Here it will be facing him square in the face. He's going to have to deal with it. He's going to have to force himself to become a productive human being again. He's started down that road now. Before I will allow the relationship to continue, he has to insure that it won't result in further tragedy for everyone involved. What I ask of you, is that you let him." Denise said. Sally nodded. "And what of Andrea?" she asked, pointedly. "Andrea is not being asked to do anything she does not wish to do. In fact we have asked nothing of her beyond certain safeguards and that she maintain the academic excellence she is fully capable of. The fact is that Andrea worships Bobby. Even with what he did. She is now *fully cognizant* of exactly what he did and *why*. She still wishes to continue the relationship. She would continue the relationship on her own if *all* of us forbid it. To deny it to her now, would do vastly more damage. We would in effect lose all. I suspect that Betty and I would be the only survivors of the backlash. Possibly Cindy too. But she wouldn't be the same now without Andrea in her life. You would lose Andrea. She would not continue to be the loving vibrant daughter that you know. You would lose Bobby. Perhaps not to the prison system, as I doubt you would press charges. But he would remove himself from your lives nonetheless. As would Andrea. They might well go off together and continue the relationship on their own. Perhaps without the safeguards. I don't know. I couldn't even begin to predict their behavior. But our way... well... We address the root fears and foundation of the taboo. We remove them. After that we cover the societal stigma. We give the situation a chance to play itself out. I can't really say that they will or won't live their lives out in happiness. But this gives them a chance. A better chance than any single other option I've been able to think of." Denise concluded. "And you? Will you become involved with Bobby?" Sally asked. "I don't honestly know. I feel a physical attraction to him. Probably not as strongly as Betty does, but I feel it nonetheless. Beyond that, I won't know until I have spent time with him. Physical alone is not enough for me. I need more. I share more with all the others. I fully intend to live out my life blissfully in love with them all. If Bobby becomes part of that bliss, so be it. If not, I recognize his importance to Andrea and Betty enough that it's not going to interfere with my relationships with them. The only way it could do so, would be if he became involved with outside relationships and brought disease back into our circle. But really I don't expect that to happen. I think he's not about to introduce any other factor he has to pay penance for. I think he has enough of that to deal with." Denise said. "You think that's what he's doing? Paying penance?" Sally asked. "Not to me. To* himself*. Based upon his own scale of judgment. He's fully responsible to himself to determine the extent of that. It's not for me to judge at all." Denise said. "You really are something, you know that?" Sally asked. "In what way?" Denise asked. "In *every* way. I consider myself extremely fortunate that my children have become associated with you. This all could have ended much more tragically had that not been the case." Sally said, admiration in her eyes. "I would be lying to say I was alone in that. There are many others striving with all their hearts to make this all work out right. Bobby and Andrea both have years of professional therapy ahead of them. Jenny's put her ass on the line professionally because of her faith in me. So has Betty. The girls have put their future in mine and Betty's hands. Sam and Marge have entrusted their daughters happiness and future to me. To the extent that they could face legal proceedings and loss of their rights as parents." Denise said, soberly. "Yes, and I can't think of a finer set of hands for it all to rest in." Sally said. "Thank you... but that only adds to the load." Denise said, wearily. "I think you're up to it." Sally said, cheerfully. "Perhaps. I'm going to do my best." Denise said. "I know you will. I thank you for your honesty. Fact is that I feel a whole lot better now than I have lately. Ever since I saw the possibility of what you've confirmed as fact. So... what can I do?" Sally asked. "Oh... Well, the main thing.... is to just love your children and have faith in them as responsible adults." Denise said. "Yes... I will do that. What else?" Sally asked. "Well... You know John better than anybody. I leave it in your hands to decide just what to tell him and how and when." Denise said. Sally nodded. "Not yet. Perhaps never. It would tear him up pretty badly. Maybe down the road when Bobby is talking and you are all living together. I may slowly introduce the concept and let him figure it out for himself." she said. "That is your decision to make. I leave that fully in your hands." Denise said. "What else?" Sally asked. "Well, financially we are secure enough. So we don't need help there. But right now you have a very worried young lady upstairs. After your conversation with Betty last Monday, Andrea has been basically a bundle of nerves. Cindy's been exceptionally good at helping her deal with that, but she can only offer so much love and support. What she really needs, is another ally in her camp. Part of her family. She needs to know that you understand and that you don't blame her and that you are going to continue to support and love both her and Bobby. It would help a lot if you could tell her that you know and that she still has your love and support. It would help immeasurably." Denise said. "Yes, I can see that. I'll need to talk to her when John isn't around." Sally said. "How about this morning. Why don't you two sit down for a girl to girl pre-marriage chat while John works on the extension with us?" Denise suggested. "Yes... That will work. The only problem with that is work clothes for him." Sally said. "I think we can deal with that. The roads are probably clear by now anyway if he wanted to go home and change." Denise said, "I doubt he would feel comfortable in what we may attire him in." Sally chuckled. The sound brought lightness to Denise's heart. She found herself laughing too. Soon both were laughing uncontrollably. "I can just see him in your best jeans." Sally gasped, and they were off again. "What's all this commotion?" Betty asked, standing with her hands on her hips watching the two of them. "Good morning, love. Come give me a kiss." Denise requested, opening her arms to her. Betty looked at Sally, who seemed unconcerned as she was still holding her sides in laughter. She moved into Denise's arms. She was a bit surprised by the depth of Denise's kiss, but she didn't resist it. She found herself returning it measure for measure. Finally Denise just hugged her to her. "My love. Sally and I have had a long heart to heart chat this morning. And I am very happy to report we have another valuable ally in our corner." Denise said, kissing Betty again. Betty swung her head around to look at Sally, who smiled at her and nodded. "Outstanding!" Betty said, launching herself at Sally. Sally caught her and hugged her tightly to her. They hugged for a long time. Denise went and poured Betty a cup of coffee, bringing the pot back to renew hers and Sally's cup. Finally Sally let up with her hug, but kept Betty by her side while Denise served her her coffee. "I've wanted to tell you for a long time now. I've just been so scared over how you would react." Betty said soberly, sipping at her coffee. "I know. And in fact I might have reacted badly to part of the story. I had surmised that Denise held all the cards. That she was pulling all the strings and as such she was the best one to tell me all the facts. I think I was right about that. She was able to give me a lot of insight into all aspects of the situation. Perhaps even into areas you wouldn't have been able to. I don't blame you a bit for not telling me. What it shows me is the degree of your devotion to my daughter *and* my son. Denise was able to reveal things to me that would have been difficult for you to do without breaking confidences. She herself would not tell me until I named it specifically. So she broke no confidences." Sally said. "God, I'm so relieved. I wanted so badly to tell you last night; it hurt." Betty said, tears on her cheeks. "Well, now I know. I'll do whatever I can to help." Sally said, taking Betty's hand and squeezing it warmly. "Where are the girls? Are they up?" Denise asked. "In the shower. I expect them... in a bit." Betty said. "In the shower, huh?" Sally chuckled, "I always did like the shower. Only as a nice place to start things. It's probably different with women." "A bit, yes." Denise smirked. Betty looked at Sally and found herself chuckling along with her. "How so?" Sally asked, seriously. Betty stopped chuckling. "You wish specifics?" Denise asked, nonplused. Sally seemed to consider for a moment. "No.. Not at the moment. But someday. For the moment I do have a request though." she said. "Name it." Betty said. "I would like, very much..... To kiss you both.... Before the girls come down or John comes out." Sally said. "Oh, we can do that." Betty giggled. "I don't think you follow her." Denise said, looking at Sally. Betty stopped chuckling again. "Real kisses?" she asked. "As real as you can make them." Sally said. "Are you sure?" Denise asked. "Quite. Unless you do not wish to." Sally said. "Standing or sitting?" Betty asked. "Standing." Sally replied. Betty got to her feet. Sally did too. There was nervousness on both sides as Betty gently enfolded Sally in her arms and their lips met. They stayed that way a long time. Denise could see that Sally was kissing back measure for measure. And Betty was a *good* kisser. Sally moaned softly a bit and her body sort of shuddered against Betty before she let up. Sally seemed to sway on her feet as Betty slowly backed away, more than a little shaky herself. "Thank you." Sally said, a bit hoarsely. She looked to Denise. "Still sure?" Denise asked. "Yes, quite." Sally said, looking at her hungrily. Denise set her coffee down and got to her feet. Sally moved to her as if in a trance. Denise folded her into her arms and their lips met. It was like nothing else Sally had ever experienced. She wasn't the least bit surprised when her body convulsed in the middle of it. She *was* more than a bit surprised when Denise's did *too*. Denise guided the kiss back to a slow sensual pleasure, then slowly withdrew until their lips barely touched and then slid apart. Sally slowly opened her eyes to gaze into Denise's as she had with Betty. "Like daughter, like mother." Denise said, smiling at her. Sally sort of nodded to the oblique reference to the first time Denise had kissed Andrea and both had climaxed. She kind of quivered inside as Denise slowly released her. "Thank you. I wanted to know what it was like for my daughter. I am very pleased to see her future will be quite enjoyable for her." Sally said hoarsely, reaching for her seat to steady herself. "I wish I could learn that trick that Denise has." Betty mused. "You did just fine. It's not technique or a trick that causes that, it's passion." Denise said. Sally sort of nodded absently. "I don't follow." Betty said. "She means that you did just fine. You *both* gave me orgasms. She also means that didn't just happen from what either of you did specifically. The kisses were just triggers for something that's been building up in me for a long time." Sally said. "Something we can talk about at a later time as I think I hear the lovely sound of joyous young voices." Denise said quietly. Both Sally and Betty nodded and went back to their coffee. A few moments later Cindy and Andrea bounced happily down the stairs. Attired in their tights and bibs with T-shirts beneath them. They rounded the corner and spotted the three women sitting around the fire. They mistook the reflection for somberness. "What's going on?" Cindy asked, with growing alarm. "What's going on, is, I'm due for a decent good morning kiss from you two." Denise chuckled. Both girls flicked their eyes toward Sally, who was sipping thoughtfully at her coffee. Denise sighed. "She's going to be your mother in law, Cindy. She's going to be mother- in-law to you and me and Betty. Surely you two can't think she doesn't realize that includes kissing and a whole lot more. We can save the rest for private, but I don't intend to hide my kisses from her." she said. Cindy shrugged and moved to kiss Denise. She tried to keep it short and shallow, but Denise was having none of it. Cindy knew she had been kissed by the time Denise was through with her. Andrea showed even more trepidation, with as much success. While Denise was kissing Andrea, Betty snagged Cindy and kissed her in the same manner. Andrea was powerless when Betty snagged her after Denise was through. "That's better. Now, what would you like for breakfast?" Denise asked, pulling Cindy back onto her lap. Cindy looked over to find Sally unconcerned over the kissing. She shrugged and turned back to Denise. "I hadn't thought about it. Coffee first." she said. "You might just find a cup or two left. I'd be grateful if you would make some more after you pour a cup for you and Andrea." Denise said, kissing her softly again. Cindy couldn't help but snicker, but she slid off Denise's lap and went to pour two cups of coffee. There was just enough. Cindy got out the beans and Andrea looked longingly at her as she ground them. Sally fought to hide her snicker as Denise had told her all about the coffee grinding as part of her explanation of Andrea's treatment. That part had at first been difficult for her to listen to. When Denise had told her of her treatment that night by everybody. But in the end she had seen the purpose of it all. She had tears of joy for her daughter rolling down her cheeks as Denise had described how they had pampered and attired her, then waited upon her. Now she smiled to herself as she surveyed her daughter sitting on Betty's lap. Andrea turned to her as if she could feel her eyes. "Did you sleep well?" she asked. "Yes, quite. How was your sleep?" her mother asked, cheerfully. "Mm quite well. I went out like a light." Andrea said, not knowing how to read her mothers good humor. "So Denise told me. She said both you girls were gone by the time her and Betty got to bed." Sally said. Andrea queried Denise with her eyes over what they had talked about. She found only a reassuring smile. Cindy came up and handed her her cup and then sat down on the edge of the hearth. Enjoying the warmth as she sipped her coffee. Both girls could tell something significant had transpired that morning, but neither could fathom what it might have been. But they realized that the mood wasn't somber, it was thoughtful and content. This put them both at ease a bit. "So, since I can't get an answer out of these two, what would you like for breakfast, Sally?" Denise asked. "Anything, really. Whatever everybody else is having." Sally replied. Denise rolled her eyes. "Very well. You all get what I'm cooking then." she chuckled, getting to her feet. Cindy got to her feet and followed her into the kitchen. Andrea kissed Betty on the cheek and then sat down on the sofa next to her. Denise set about making Monte Cristo's. Cindy instantly recognizing her actions, set about helping her by getting out the other ingredients and slicing the cheese. "What's going on?" Cindy whispered to Denise. Denise smiled at her and answered by planting a kiss on her lips. Cindy shrugged and continued her slicing. Later when Denise had the sandwiches half cooked she whispered back to Cindy: "Later this morning, Sally's going to have a little chat with Andrea. We need to keep John busy working while she does." Cindy looked at her concerned. "It's not bad. I will explain later." Denise said, quietly. "Has anybody looked outside yet?" Andrea asked. "No, why don't you as you are dressed." Betty suggested. Andrea shrugged and got to her feet. She opened the front door and found a solid nine inches to a foot of snow blanketing the front yard and driveway. The only part not covered, were the cars under the carport. Even there the snow had drifted in partially. She looked out toward the road and saw that it had been plowed and was just wet. The sun was shining, brilliantly reflected off the snow. "Looks like the roads are clear, but we need to get out the snow blower before they can get out." she said, closing the door. "Think you would get as big a thrill from operating that as you did the cable trencher?" Betty chuckled. "Sure. I'll get my coat and gloves." Andrea said, automatically. "Be careful with that thing, love. Shut it down before you try to clear any clogs." Denise called to her. "Yes, we have one just like it." Andrea said, pulling her coat from the closet. "A moment. Don't I get a good morning hug?" Sally asked. Andrea smiled at her and moved to hug her mother. She was a bit surprised when her mother hugged her for a long time. "I think, daughter of mine. That we ought to have a long girl to girl pre- marriage chat later. Okay?" Sally said, cheerfully. "O-kay." Andrea said, hesitantly. "I think we can do that while your father is showing these lovely brides to be how to hang drywall. I think they'll understand." Sally said, squeezing her hand. "Sure." Andrea said, but reassured by her mothers outwardly jovial mood. Denise kissed Cindy and asked her if she would help Andrea. Cindy smiled and nodded. Cindy got her winter togs out and joined Andrea. They went out through the garage to get the snow blower out. A bit later the sound of a small engine broke the morning peace. It was around eight- thirty. "I think I'll see if John's awake." Sally said, getting to her feet. "Breakfast will be ready in a moment. If you'd like to take it to him in bed?" Denise offered. "Yes, that would be nice." Sally said, moving to the kitchen. Denise got out a breakfast tray and loaded a plate for Sally and John. Betty disappeared for a few minutes and when she reappeared she had a single red rose in a small vase and a bottle of champagne. "I don't know where she comes up with those. I think she's part witch sometimes." Denise mused, kissing Betty on the cheek. Betty smiled and set the rose on the tray then set about making champagne orange juice. Sally watched, her eyes a bit sparkly. "You ladies have a lot of class, you know that?" she said. "Ah, twernt 'nuttin." Betty giggled. "Ah shucks little lady. Much obliged fer your 'noticin." Denise said, giggling too. Sally kissed them both on the cheek and hugged them. Betty poured two glasses from the picture. "You better hurry before your man is up." she said. Sally nodded and kissed her cheek again before picking up the tray and heading for the guest room. She needn't have hurried. John was still asleep. She kissed him tenderly to wake him. When he stirred she had him sit up while she put the tray around him. Then she removed her robe and slid in beside him. "To what do I owe this honor?" he asked. "In reward for your outstanding performance last night." Sally said, kissing his cheek. "I need to brush my teeth." he said. "Take a sip of coffee, and one of this, that should scare any critters away." she said. John did so, being startled by the mamosa. Afterwards Sally pulled him into a real kiss that lasted a long time. ---------------------- Betty came up behind Denise, wrapped her arms around her and kissed her on the neck. "Did I ever tell you I love you?" Betty asked between kisses. "A time or two. I never tire of it though." Denise said, flipping some sandwiches and then turning in Betty's arms. "I love you." Betty said, just before their lips met. ----------------------- "So what's going on?" Andrea asked Cindy after they had cleared most the driveway. "Darned if I know. Denise said that your mother and you were going to have a chat later and that we should keep your father busy while she did. She said it wasn't bad." Cindy said. Andrea sighed heavily. "I just know she knows about Bobby and I." she said, fighting her tears. "Maybe. But she certainly didn't seem upset about it if she does." Cindy replied. Andrea nodded, started the snow blower again and began another row. Cindy took a square mouthed shovel and went to work on the ice berm the snowplow had left. After a bit Andrea joined her with the machine. They found that the heavy duty two-stage machine could chew through the crud. Andrea directed the output chute directly in front of her so it blew the ice off to the side of the driveway entrance rather than into the road. She applied more power to the machine and it made quick work of the mess the snowplow had left. Later Cindy took the machine and finished off the drive and sidewalk. They put the machine away and then moved shivering into the kitchen. "Thank you loves." Denise said, pulling Andrea to her first and kissing her deeply. "Yes, thank you very much." Betty said, doing the same to Cindy. Both girls were powerless to fight it. Even when both women warmed their cheeks with their hands as they kissed them. "Mmm let it snow if that's our reward." Cindy chuckled. "Mmm yes. Thank you. Now what's going on?" Andrea asked. Denise hugged her to her a moment. "I think, that your mother is a *very* understanding lady who loves you very much. I think you both have a lot to talk about. It's not my place to tell you what. But I can tell you that she is very much in your corner." Denise said, kissing her tenderly. Andrea seemed to sag against her. She found herself sobbing great sobs. Denise just held her and let her cry. Betty came around and took over the cooking. Cindy poured her and Andrea some coffee and orange juice. The table was already set for four. "Sally and John aren't eating with us?" Cindy asked. "Sally is sharing breakfast in bed with John." Betty informed her, kissing her on the neck. Denise walked her and Andrea back to a chain and pulled her onto her lap. Andrea found herself snuggling to her. "It's okay, love. Everything will be alright." Denise softly cooed to her. Andrea shuddered against her and fought to control herself. "I just love you all so much. I'm so scared I'm going to lose you." she cried. "You're not going to lose us, not ever. We love you with all our hearts. Now take a deep breath and stop crying. You need not worry. Everything is going to be fine." Denise told her. Andrea did as she was instructed, but remained snuggled to Denise. "She knows, doesn't she." Andrea said. "Yes." Denise said, but hurried on, "But she also *understands*. She figured it out for herself. She asked me about it this morning. We had a long talk about it. I explained *everything* to her and she *understands* how you feel. Your father doesn't know, and for now that's the way it will remain. Your mother just wants to tell you how much she loves you and give you the chance to tell her how *you* feel. I think it's a good idea that you two talk about it." Andrea was sobbing again against Denise. Denise let her cry herself out. Then she tenderly kissed her tears away and set her on her own chair. "Now eat. I think your father is going to run home and change his clothes while you and your mother get started on your little chat. So eat now." Denise said, kissing her cheek tenderly. Andrea nodded. Somehow she felt relieved, although she was still nervous. Mostly Denise wanted her to get a Mamosa into her to help calm her nerves. Slowly she started to eat. "That snow blower of yours does a good job." Cindy said, making conversation. "Yes, I bought that after my first winter here. Actually, after I shoveled the walk by hand the first time." Betty chuckled. ----------------------- "That was great." John said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Mmm. Yes it was." Sally said, snuggling to his side with her coffee. "I never had anyone give me flowers before." John said, picking up the rose and smelling it. "Betty's contribution. She seems to have a private stash of them that she uses for the girls." Sally said. "That's sweet." John said, sipping his coffee. "Yes, it is. They seem to thrive on sweetness around here..... I've come to believe that Andrea is particularly lucky to have become involved with these people." Sally said. "You didn't think so originally." John chuckled. "No, neither did you. But now that I know them better. I'm downright thrilled about it. What about you?" Sally asked. "I've come to terms with it. Given complete freedom to choose, I would still pick something else for Andrea." John admitted. "But?" Sally asked. "But given how things are, I will give her all the support she needs to make this work for her. The same applies to Bobby if that works out." John said. "I knew there was a reason I married you." Sally said, pulling his head around into a kiss warmed by her coffee. "Mmm that's nice." he said. "Think so?" Sally asked, moving the tray to the night stand, but taking another sip of her coffee. "Yes." John said. "Try this then." Sally said, ducking her head under the covers and sucking his manhood into her mouth. John fought off his groan of delight. Then he pulled Sally off of him. "We can't do that now. I know the others are up." John said. Sally got out of bed and locked the door then climbed back in with him. "Darling. This whole household thrives on physical pleasure. Even if they figure out what we are doing, then I'm positive they will understand." she said, pulling the covers off him and moving over him. "I don't know." John protested. "I do." Sally said, stroking him with her hand, "Besides, I find it particularly sexy making love in this bed for some reason. Oh the stories it could tell." "Sometimes I think I've married a nymphomaniac." John chuckled, finding her breasts with his hands. "Not so. You know very well that I *can* be satiated. Just sometimes I like it a lot more than others.... like now." Sally replied, positioning her hips over him. John was powerless to resist her as she impaled herself upon him. She began to move almost immediately. Somehow it was different in this bed, knowing that their daughter and her lovers were in the other room. Sally worked him skillfully to the edge, then she began to play. Alternating her speed and the depth of her strokes. "I think this is another of the reasons why you married me." John half- gasped. "Mmm true." Sally gasped back. -------------------------- "So I wonder what's keeping them." Andrea asked, nervously. "Darling, if I thought that was a serious question, I'd be seriously worried about you." Denise chuckled, leaning to kiss her cheek. Andrea's eyes got big in realization. "You don't think that they're..." she asked. "I think it quite likely. You know how romantic you find being served breakfast in bed. What makes you think your folks are any different?" Denise asked. "I don't know... I guess they aren't." Andrea said, a bit uncomfortable. "Of course they aren't. Now, how about a little net surfing with me? I found a live cam shot of the park one day. I'd like to check it out to see if we can go running there today." Denise said, busing her dishes. "Now why would there be a live camera on the park?" Betty asked. "It's actually a weather camera one of the TV stations has on their web site, but it looks out right over the park." Denise said. "Not over a particular area, I hope." Cindy chuckled. "Goodness, I hadn't thought of that. But I think that area is obscured by trees anyway." Denise said. "I think we better find out before we go smooching there anymore." Cindy chuckled. "I'll do that right now." Denise said, snagging her laptop. It took her but a moment to log onto her Internet account. Once on, she found she had mail. She downloaded it right away. It was from Bobby, just sent: "*Looks a bit deep to go running today. Unless you have snowshoes. I'll understand if you don't make it. Love, Bobby.*" "We shall see." Denise mused, searching out the web site she had in mind. It took a few more moments to load the image. It cam up sharp and clear. It showed the park buried in a white blanket of snow. Denise looked at the image closely, then saved it and composed a letter to Bobby. "*I think you are right. Attached you will find current image of park from TV station weather camera. Add {http://www.krnt.com/weather/live- cam.jpg} to your bookmarks to look at this view whenever you'd like. Love, Denise.*" She was about to send it when Betty stopped her, saying that she would like to run with him on the road that afternoon at his normal afternoon run time. Denise amended the letter and then sent it with the live-cam shot attached. "Guess it's a good thing that I logged on when I did. The desktop is still set to beep if any mail comes in. I guess I caught it before it could check my mail or the beeping might have alarmed Sally." Denise mused. "That would have been a shame." Betty said. "Why?" Andrea asked. "Now *I'm* worried about you." Cindy chuckled. "I know I'm just not myself today. I'm just nervous." Andrea said, quietly. "I know you are nervous, love. But there is no need to be." Denise said. "It's just not easy facing her. Knowing she knows." Andrea said. "I know love. But I seem to recall a young lady who vowed she would lay her hand on a hot stove until it blackened if I so bid it. She was serious enough about it that I didn't dare test her. Surely that same young lady can face her mother." Denise said. Andrea seemed to pull herself upright. She smiled at Denise and leaned to kiss her passionately. "That's my girl." Denise said, going for another one. "Come on, you two. I think we'd better get started while we can. If we all start *that,* we won't get anything done today. I speak for myself and my own desires, of course." Betty chuckled, but pulled Cindy into a kiss. Cindy didn't resist, in fact she kissed back quite hungrily. Betty sighed when they finally pulled back. All got to their feet and headed for the extension. "I think for now we should concentrate on the shower enclosures so the plumbers can do their thing on Monday." Denise purposed. "I think you're right. Those sheets are heavy. It's going to take all four of us to move them. Please don't drop them as they are very brittle and very expensive." Betty said. The girls discovered just how heavy they were on the first one. Two could handle one sheet, but it was a bear. Four was a much better number. They worked from the corners where the shower and tubs would sit. They got almost one and a half bathrooms done before Sally came out. "John went to change his clothes and get some for me. I think I'd like to have a little chat with Andrea, if you can spare her?" she asked, watching the girls work. "Of course. Let us get this sheet up first, then you can have her for as long as you'd like." Betty said, grunting a bit to position the sheet. Andrea seemed way nervous. But continued to help with the sheet. She wouldn't look at her mother. They got the sheet in place and the girls move in with their screw guns while Denise and Betty held it. In no time it was fastened securely. "I may be old fashioned, but that looks like men's work." Sally chuckled. "No argument from me." Denise puffed. She could see that Andrea was on the verge of tears she was so nervous as she took off her nail apron. Denise moved to her and pulled her into her arms. She grabbed the back of her hair and kissed her passionately. Betty and Cindy were right behind her. Andrea seemed almost in a panic as the three women hugged and kissed her. "Now. That was to show you that we all love you very much. Have a nice chat. Take your time. We'll all be here for you when you are through, and *forever*." Denise said. Andrea had tears running down her cheeks. But she steeled herself and nodded. She turned to her mother and moved into her arms. For a long time her mother just held her, comforting her. Then she guided her away. "I think, baby, that we have much to talk about. Now don't be scared...." she said as they walked. The other women looked after her until they were gone. Tears in their own eyes. "Now will you tell me what it's about?" Cindy asked. "Yes, love. I guess Sally inferred what was going on between Bobby and Andrea from little slips we've all made here and there, or simply from the context of Bobby living here and Andrea supposedly sharing Betty with him. She asked me about it this morning and I told her. I gave her enough of the facts that she actually does understand. But she knows Andrea needs to talk to her about it before she blows a gasket. It's not really Sally who *wants* to talk about it. She does understand and she told me this morning she wasn't going to interfere with our plan. But Andrea *needs* to talk about it with her. You've seen what she's been like since last Monday. She's not going to unwind until they have this talk." Denise said. Cindy nodded. "I don't envy her." she said. "It won't be so bad. Sally really is in her corner. She just needed to talk to her while John was away. He doesn't know about it... or we don't think he does. She wants to slowly drop information that will make him think about the possibility over time. But starting after Bobby is already living here." Denise said. Cindy nodded again. "Do you think we three can handle one of these sheets?" Betty asked. "Yes, I think my arms are a bit stronger. If you and Cindy take one end, I'll take the other." Denise said. "We can alternate." Betty said. They set about finishing up the bathroom enclosures. It wasn't too bad with three people. They got all the smaller bathrooms and most the big one done before John came back dressed in his work clothes. He was flabbergasted that they were handling the cement sheets. "You sure you need me?" he chuckled. "YES!" all three answered, then giggled. "Yes, certainly. Especially for the ceilings. We don't have a clue how to do those, and we probably couldn't handle this kind of material if we did." Denise said. "Well, why don't you finish screwing that sheet up and then I'll show you on Andrea's room with the lighter sheets." he suggested. Everyone was ready for a break from the cement sheets anyway. John talked as they worked. "I'm a bit worried about Andrea. I looked in on her and Sally when I got back. They were just sitting on the bed. Andrea was just crying while Sally held her." he said. "Don't be worried, John. Us women just have to cry sometime. Sally's just having a little heart to heart with Andrea before she gets married. I'm sure that's a very emotional time for both of them." Denise said. "If you say so. I'm certain you understand women much better than I do." John said. "I should hope so." Denise chuckled, "As I *are* one. Don't worry about Andrea. She'll be fine." John nodded his thanks. He showed them how to walk a sheet up on one end, then have one person hold it over their head while another walked up the other end. Then a third person moved in with a T-brace he built and wedged first one end, and then the other up against the ceiling. The trick was that you couldn't put the first brace in tight until you had the second in place, or you would crack the sheet. Using this technique they finished up the ceiling in Andrea's room in no time. John had them try a room by themselves with the lighter sheets before he helped them with the heavy sheets in the bathrooms. They kept on working, setting all the bathroom ceilings before they took a break. All were sweaty and tired. Betty slipped out and brought back a cooler with soda's and bottled water. They sat back admiring their work as they sipped on their selections. "I really have to hand it to you ladies. This is some bit of work you've done already." he said. "Thank you, John. Fact is that we've had fun while we were doing it. But I don't think any of us would like to make a profession out of it." Betty chuckled. "Yeah.... I wonder what they are talking about all this time?" he said, looking toward the door. "They're probably reminiscing about events going back years. This may be the last time they get to have a long heart to heart. They know that. When was the last time they had a nice long chat like this?" Denise asked. "Oh... not for some time, I'd wager. I guess Andrea was still a girl. They used to talk all day sometimes when we were up at our cabin." he recalled. "There you go then. They're probably just catching up on all they've missed between then and now." Betty said. "Yeah, probably. It's hard for me to believe how much of a woman she's become. I still remember her as a little girl." John said. "What was she like when she was a girl?" Denise prompted. "She was a hoot. Always playing tricks. Always laughing and happy. I guess she was mature for her age even back then. I remember her taking a bad spill when she tripped on a rock while running. I started for her, but she picked herself up and brushed herself off. She examined her badly scrapped elbow and then turned around and kicked the rock." John chuckled. "That doesn't sound too mature, kicking a rock." Cindy chuckled. "No love. It was the picking herself up, brushing herself off and examining her own wound that was the mature part." Denise said, softly. John nodded. "Yeah, she was a brave little girl." he said. "She still is." Betty said, softly. "Well, I guess we'd better get back to work if you're ready." John said, getting to his feet. The others joined him and they set about finishing up the rest of the ceilings. ------------------------------ Andrea and her mother just lay together hugging each other. Andrea felt better now that she had told her mother her side of the events. It had been very painful. But she *did* feel better. Her mother had helped quite a bit reassuring her that she didn't blame her, and not even Bobby. "I blame those assholes who tortured him in the first place." she had said. Afterwards they had talked about Andrea continuing to see Bobby. "Well, the way I see it baby.... Love is love. If you really feel that deeply about him... well, we'd just better do what we can to protect you both. I will back you both and help you any way I can. But in return I have one request." her mother said. "What's that?" Andrea had asked with trepidation. "That you promise not to have intercourse with him again until he's had a vasectomy and had a certified zero sperm count. Precautions are one thing, but there are all kinds of people walking this earth who are here in spite of them. Including *you*." Sally said. "Me?" Andrea asked. "Yes. Your father and I weren't going to have any more kids. We used conventional birth control religiously. Prophylactics and a spermicide. But I still got pregnant with you." Sally chuckled. "So I was unwanted?" Andrea asked. "No baby. You were *unexpected*. There's a difference. A big one. From the time I got pregnant, I babied myself and your father pampered me to make certain you would come out alright. And you have. I'm so proud of you I could bust." Sally said. "Proud of me. With what I've done?" Andrea asked, tears in her eyes. "Yes, love. Very much so. I don't hold any of this against you. Not even your continued relationship with Bobby. I understand it well enough. You see.... I've had feelings for him myself." Sally said. "You have?" Andrea asked, aghast. "Yes love...... and for you too." Sally said, softly. "Me!?" Andrea gasped. Sally looked at her a moment, seeing the shock there. "Yes... Is it such a surprise? I've never done anything about it. I would never dream of it. I'm not telling you now because I wish to change that. I'm telling you now to let you know I do understand about you and Bobby." Sally said, misty eyed. Andrea thought about it for a bit. "It's just a surprise is all." she said. "Why so? You've grown into a bright, beautiful, and very sexy young woman. Bobby's a very sexy man. I'm a human being. I feel physical attraction to people I find attractive. But I've felt physical attraction to a lot of people over my life. I've had sex with very few of them." Sally said. "But if you're attracted?..." Andrea said, faltering. "I guess I need more than just the physical side. I always have. I think you do to. From what you've told me. You and Bobby share more. You talk -which I envy you for as I miss talking to him. You joke. You're affectionate and loving. Sounds like a relationship to me. And one that's not going to go away." Sally said. Andrea nodded. "Yes, I love him dearly." she said. "Do I have your promise? No intercourse at all till he's fixed? And nothing that could even remotely have a chance of passing semen?" Sally asked. Andrea nodded. "Yes, I promise. That's the least I can do. Fact is that we get together seldom enough that it won't be so very different." she said. Her mother nodded. "I know. It will be different for you later on. You'll have all the opportunity you want to get together. I'll do whatever I can to support you both. I'll help you any way I can. But you are both going to have to take responsibility for your actions. When you both move in here, you'll be officially adults. I'll help you where I can, but I *won't* be mediating lovers spats over which way the toilet paper should face, or other silly things like that. You'll have to work out your own relational problems. I'll help you where I can with the problems you encounter facing the rest of the world." she said. "I actually want it that way. Even with the mistakes I've made... I've been dealing with my own relational problems for a long time now." Andrea said. "I know you have, love. I also know that you are one very lucky lady to have gotten involved with Denise and the others here. I shudder to think.... Well, you are very lucky indeed." Sally said. "I know it. I'm reminded of my luck everyday. When I wake up snuggled to them... or when they suddenly kiss me for no other reason than that they love me.... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." Andrea said. "You didn't. I think you are a lot more uncomfortable about that than I am or even your father is. As Denise was saying this morning, you are going to be married to them. I took for granted that involved kissing and a whole lot more. I take for granted that you are having sex with each of them. I suspect it's even *great* sex and that you do it a lot! I'm not uncomfortable about that. I might be if you had great sex *in front* of me. But I damn sure am not uncomfortable about you kissing in front of me. Even passionately. Fact is that I'm thrilled that you can experience that passion with those who obviously love you very, very deeply." Sally said. "This is not at all what I expected." Andrea said. "How did you expect me to be? Andrea... You are -now- essentially an adult. For whatever reasons made you that at this early age, you *are* an adult. I know what it feels like to be an adult. Ask yourself what would have happened if I had screamed and shouted at you and forbid you to see Bobby ever again. Would you have meekly obeyed my wishes, or would -more likely- you have shut yourself off from me and continued to see Bobby in secret?" her mother asked. "I guess I would have continued to see him in secret." Andrea said, after thinking about it. "So I would have lost not only you, but probably Bobby too. So what would be gained from it? Nothing that I can see. You are an adult. You see yourself as an adult. As such, you will make your own decisions as to how you will act toward others. You will make your own decisions as to what you will do with others. You make your own decisions over what you will let yourself feel with others. I'm no longer part of that decision process. Except for supporting you where I can in your decisions, my work is done with you. I've done my very best to teach you how to think for yourself. Now, I have to stand aside and *let you*. That's just exactly what I am doing. I am *letting* you think for yourself. I am offering my support to back up those decisions that you make. But I can no longer make them for you. That's what being an adult means." Sally said. "So you really don't like my relationship with Bobby, do you?" Andrea asked. "I'm not thrilled about it, no. And you know why. You know just exactly what society thinks about it. That's another reason why you are extremely lucky to be involved with those ladies. Most the rest of the world is going to react just like June did. You know that's true. That by itself is why I'm not thrilled about it. Sure, there is a side of me that is thrilled that you share a deep wonderful love with a wonderful person. The romantic in me thinks it's just tits. But I'm also an adult myself. I face the world every day. I know what it's like. I know how fast it can turn on you if it gets the slightest hint of a whisper that you are breaking one of it's taboo's. And incest is one of their biggest taboo's. That's why I'm not thrilled about it. Because I see what *could* happen to both of you. It's certainly not from any subconscious bias on my part. I fully understand exactly where the taboo against incest came from. It's sole foundation is that it increases the chance of birth defects to as much as one in eight. And from what I know of it, the other seven aren't too bright. The fully nebulous taboo that extends to all family members is largely a result of homophobia. It has no other validity. *Biologically*, there is no reason that *you and I* couldn't share a very happy sexual relationship. Socially, it would be very dangerous indeed. You remove the chance of pregnancy and offspring, and as far as I'm concerned you have removed the foundation from the taboo. But you haven't taken away the societal stigma that will always go with it. And that is *reality*. And that is the reason that I am not thrilled by it. The only reason." Sally explained. Once again the mention of a sexual relationship between them had made Andrea feel uncomfortable. She realized the reason she felt that way. Because she herself desired it. But she was shocked that her mother had ever felt that way about her. She realized it was exactly what she was talking about. Her own shock over the concept was exactly what society would feel toward them. "Yes, I understand what you are saying. When you mentioned you and I just now, I was shocked again. As I was earlier when you admitted feeling desire for me. That's exactly how society would act." Andrea said, softly. "And what brought that realization to mind?" Sally asked. "What I feel for you." Andrea admitted. "Are you saying you desire me?" her mother asked. "Yes.... I have for a long time. I don't know, maybe when I crossed that line with Bobby.... Maybe part of me said the line didn't matter anymore. That it was okay to feel that way about anybody." Andrea said. "It *is* okay to *feel* that way about anybody. But as adults, we have to be responsible for our actions. That means facing up to the world we have to live in. That means either living by the rules of the world, or being willing to face the repercussions of it. It's not a perfect world. It's not fair. It's ruled by mobs of sheep who blindly go about making arbitrary rules that drastically affect peoples lives. It's all that. But it is the reality we have to deal with." Sally said. Andrea nodded. "Yes... And I'm willing to face those repercussions. I love Bobby that much. If we get away with it, then it will have been worth the risk. If we don't, then we have each other until then." she said. "Alright. If that's the way you really feel, then I will back you up as much as I'm able. But that also includes both of you acting responsible and dealing with your end of things. As much as Denise and the others have helped you, I still think you need counseling. Bobby for damn sure does. I'll want you both to see Jenny for as long as *she* deems it needed. I guess we're sort of limited on a selection of a therapist, but I have no problem with Jenny. She's put her career on the line for you already and she's shown to be effective. I'm not expecting nor seeking for her to cure you and Bobby of your relationship. I am expecting for her to help you both deal with the effects of the trauma you've both experienced." Sally said. "Yes, I have no problem with seeing Jenny. She's great.... So are you." Andrea said, hugging her mother. "So are you, baby.... I guess I ought to quit calling you that. It certainly doesn't apply anymore." Sally mused. "No, please don't stop. I don't take it as a diminutive. I like being your baby." Andrea said, hugging her mother tightly. "A *diminutive* huh? Well being around these teachers certainly hasn't hurt your vocabulary. Most sixteen year olds don't use that kind of language. They usually have a different sort of language problem." Sally chuckled. "Denise and Betty seldom use profanity. Denise said that profanity is '*the illiterates means of being emphatic*'. She's taught me a lot. They all have." Andrea said. "Well, I'm very pleased that you are involved with them. The biggest reason is not your vocabulary or the counseling help they've given you. It's that they make you *happy*. Considering what you've been through, it's amazing to me that you *can* be happy." Sally said. "They do make me happy. But it's more than that to me. They make me feel secure too. When we had the trouble with June...-that was my fault, I got so used to trusting those around me that I applied it to everyone. I won't make that mistake again- anyway, when I messed up and June freaked out about it, I watched both Denise and Betty put their careers on the line to protect me. I'm very sorry that I put them in that position, but the fact that they stood behind me like that meant a lot to me. Just like it means a lot that you are behind me. I promise not to abuse that support." Andrea said. "I know you won't, baby. We'll get through this together, okay?" Sally asked. "Okay.... I'm glad we had this talk. I feel a lot better. I've been scared to death all week. Ever since you talked to Betty on Monday. I just knew you knew." Andrea said. "You don't need to be scared anymore. You will always have my love and support. Don't ever go thinking that there is ever anything you can't talk to me about. Okay?" Sally asked. "Okay... I love you, mom." Andrea said. "I love you too, baby." Sally said. They just hugged for a long time. It had been emotionally draining for both of them. As they hugged, Sally leaned them back to lay out on the bed. They just snuggled together hugging each other. ---------------------------- John and the others finished up all the ceilings, even those in the apartment. Denise could tell that John was worried about Sally and Andrea. "I think I'll go check on our girls." she said, stripping off her apron and slipping away. "Yes, and I think we are all quite ready for some lunch." Betty said. "Why don't I start lunch. You two can continue or rest." Cindy volunteered. "Thank you love. It's really my turn though." Betty said. "That's okay. I want to do it anyway." Cindy said, taking off her apron. "Okay, love. Thank you." Betty said, snagging her for a kiss in thanks. Cindy smiled at her, gave a short wave to John and left. "She's really a sweetheart, isn't she." John mused. "Yes, she's a joy. Soon to be your daughter in law." Betty said. "I lucked out in that department. Three real gems." John said. "Thank you." Betty said, blushing a bit, "Why don't we take a break anyway, my arms are killing me." "Okay." John nodded. He was ready for one himself. -------------------------- Denise found the two women snuggled together on the bed in the guest room. They were awake, but just lying together contentedly. She came in and sat beside them on the bed. "So how are we doing?" she asked. "*We*?" Sally chuckled, "Excellent, Doctor. Your bedside manner is good." she said. "Her in-bed manner is great." Andrea said, then blushed at her boldness. "I would imagine it is." Sally chuckled. "So how was your chat?" Denise asked. "Very good, I think. Andrea's convinced me she's quite sincere about the whole thing. She's also shown me that she realizes the implications of that and is willing to face up to them. So I have no qualms about backing her up as much as I can." Sally said. "And how about you, love. Feeling better?" Denise asked Andrea. "Yes... You were right. I needn't have worried. She does understand. I feel a lot better that we talked." Andrea said. "Great.... I imagine that you two are emotionally exhausted though. Why don't you just stay here and take a little nap? I think I heard Cindy volunteer to make lunch. I think I'll go give her a hand. I'll bring you a bite when it's ready." Denise said. "Thank you, that's kind of you." Sally said, reaching over and squeezing Denise's hand. "Thank you, love. I do feel a bit tired." Andrea said, softly caressing Denise's back. Denise bent and kissed Andrea softly on the lips, then shifted and did the same to Sally. Then she stood and slipped out, pulling the door shut. "She really is a dear, isn't she." Sally said, looking after her. "Yes, I just love her to pieces..... I was kind of surprised she kissed you like that though." Andrea said. "The kiss was innocent enough." Sally said. "Not if she kissed you like she did me, which is what it looked like from six inches away. The kiss was full and warm and showed genuine affection. Not a typical *kiss your mother-in-law* kiss." Andrea said. Sally chuckled. "No, it certainly wasn't that.... but it wasn't on the same level as one she gave me this morning either." Sally mused. "She kissed you this morning, a real kiss?" Andrea asked. "Yes, she did. At my request. And I might add with the same consequences as the first kiss she shared with you." Sally chuckled. Andrea's eyes got big in realization. "You.... *orgasmed*?..... She told you about that!?" Andrea asked, aghast. "Yes and yes. And if she hadn't, you just did." Sally chuckled. "Oh.... But.... .... So you really *meant* what you said earlier? About *me*, I mean?" Andrea asked. "Yes dear, I did." Sally said, a bit uncomfortable now. "Oh..." Andrea said, not knowing what else to say. "I guess it is a bit uncomfortable for you... with what you said about you.... *wanting* me too." Sally said. Andrea nodded against her. Both had become uncomfortably aware of the other's body pressed against hers. "This is kind of silly.... considering all we've talked about today." Sally said. "I know I'm silly sometimes." Andrea said, dejectedly, misinterpreting Sally's statement. "No, that's not what I meant. I meant for us to feel so uncomfortable about how we feel." Sally said. Andrea looked back at her in surprise. Their eyes locked and each found herself inexorably drawn toward the other. Their lips met softly at first, trembling a bit. Then quivering. Their breath caught in their throats as Andrea felt the fist tentative foray between her lips by Sally's tongue. The kiss deepened and lasted. It was warm and sensual. Without warning both emitted a crying moan as the convulsion mutually gripped their bodies. They pulled back gazing into each others eyes and they both knew they were powerless to stop it. Their eyes descended as their lips met again hungrily. The line had been crossed and there was no stepping back. ------------------------------- Denise came up behind Cindy in the kitchen and kissed her softly on the neck. "Mmm let me guess. Those lips would belong to my favorite person on the planet." Cindy cooed. "Wrong again, love. It's just me." Denise said. "Then I was correct, my love." Cindy said, turning in her arms. Their lips met and they kissed warmly. Cindy half-quivered in Denise's arms, as she always did when she kissed her. They pulled back to gaze in each others eyes. "What 'ja building for lunch? Can I help?" Denise asked. "You just did." Cindy said snuggling to her, "I thought Roast beef sandwiches and maybe soup. I can handle it okay." "Sounds good. Sweet talker that you are." Denise said, hugging the young woman to her. "How's Andrea?" Cindy asked, concerned. "Much better, I think. They need to spend a little more time together. They're going to take a little nap. Would you be a dear and make them each up a plate, but let me take it to them?" Denise asked. "Sure, be glad too. I'm glad she's feeling better. I've been worried about her." Cindy said. "I know you have, love. We all have. But I think now things are going to work out just fine. I must admit I was a bit concerned about how Sally would react, but she's shown herself to be very understanding and supportive. I think she realizes what acting differently would result in. It would just alienate Andrea and maybe Bobby too. She doesn't want that. She's genuinely concerned over both of them. I think she understands enough that she's really going to be supportive in any way she can." Denise said. "That's great." Cindy said, kissing Denise again before turning her loose. "I'm going to go tell John that they are resting and that everything is alright. I'll be back in a bit to take their lunch to them." Denise said. "I can take it into them." Cindy offered. "Thank you, but I think it would be better if I did. Not that there is anything wrong with you. But it's real sensitive right now for them. They've just admitted the situation to each other and well... it would be *uncomfortable* for them to have to face others at the moment. It's different with me as they know I'm the one that instigated them finally confiding in each other. They both know that I know all the particulars." Denise said. "Sure. I think I understand. I'll make up the plates and let you take them in." Cindy said. -------------------- End of section of Savant. Post comments to: deanajohns@hotmail.com -- +----------------' Story submission `-+-' Moderator contact `--------------+ | | | | Archive site +----------------------+--------------------+ Newsgroup FAQ | ----