Monday, April 1, 2002

When I awoke, I was aware of soft movement in the bed, soft sounds of passion. I was a little surprised, because I was lying there not involved. Then I heard JR murmur, "I'm glad you like this."

Shannon sighed. "What's not to like?" Her breath caught and I knew she'd had a climax. "When Tom did this the first time, I couldn't believe how good it felt. Oh Joanna, I like this so much!"

JR giggled lightly, but I could tell her mouth was busy. "Tom's the best. Mom's almost as good. Dad too. Jennifer as well, if she takes a few more lessons from Tom."

"I feel bad. I like this, love this; I wish I wanted to do it back."

There was another gasp from Shannon. "Mmmm," she murmured.

"Shannon, Tom might be the best there is at going down on a girl, but when it comes to finger fucking, no one, no one at all, is close to what you do. Trust me Shannon, do me the way you do me best, and I'll go down on you all you want."

Shannon's breathing took off, rapid and shallow, until she was gasping. I heard JR chuckle. "We'll wake Tom up yet."

"Ahhhhh, yesssss!" Shannon muttered. "And he should sleep. It must have been horrible, what happened yesterday."

I felt the bed move; I realized JR was getting off the end. "I'm going to get some sleep, Shannon. Later, come to my room and we can do this again."

Shannon got up, went to her. I could see them kissing in the dim light of the room. After a second, Shannon whispered in wonder, "Joanna... I'm falling in love with you."

Joanna sighed and I could see the kiss was going into overdrive; I saw JR's hands running over Shannon's butt, hot and horny. After a few minutes, I heard JR come loudly; evidently Shannon had been fingering her during the kiss. "Night, sweet Shannon. I want you. Again and again." Then JR was gone, silently out the door.

Shannon crawled back into the bed, rolled in next to me and put her arm around my chest, drawing herself close. It was like earlier; I was warm, loved, and that sufficed for me. I was asleep again moments later.

The next time I awoke was much later, and I was alone in bed. Mary knocked again on the door and repeated my name. "I'm awake," I told her, and getting up to let her in.

"Ellen wanted me to wake you up if you weren't already," she said. This morning Mary was wearing black slacks and a nice blouse.

I smiled at her and patted the bed. Mary laughed and shook her head. "Ms. Johannsen will be here in about forty-five minutes. You need a shower, then get dressed and have a little breakfast. I'm off to work in a few minutes. Dave is staying here to run you around until you can get your car. It's going to be a long day, I'm afraid."

I stroked her cheek and grinned. "I'll save some energy for later."

She nodded, her eyes searching mine. "I met you little more than a week ago.

"I still don't know what I've liked the most about it. Making love to you. Making love to Ellen, to David." She kissed me lightly. "Most amazing, I think, is being seduced by Elizabeth. My own daughter, the virgin." Our eyes met as she shook her head in wonder. "I know Ellen has been with Joanna and Jennifer, Penny with her mom. But shy Elizabeth with me, like that..." She shook her head. "And tomorrow, Elizabeth wants us to sleep together. You, me and her."

I blinked. Mary sensed my hesitation and shrugged. "I told her I didn't think it would work; I don't see how it would work with three people trying to love each other at once."

I was tempted to say that in my experience, mostly not all that well, but decided at the last minute that there were some things Mary didn't need to know.

Mary turned serious. "What with one thing and another yesterday, I didn't get to tell you. We're going to have a memorial service for Bill tomorrow morning. Ellen and Dave have begged off, so has Jennifer. JR said she'd ride with you."

"No problem," I told Mary. JR knew me better than anyone, she knew I'd go. I could tell Mary wasn't comfortable asking me, but it didn't matter. Of all the things I'd learned since Tony asked me to escort Marsha to a basketball game and a dance, being there for a friend was what I'd learned first and best.

Mary grinned suddenly. "Now, get going! We both have things to do! Places to go! And if Elizabeth wants to try this, I'll try it." I nodded, and she was gone.

I showered, put on jeans and a better shirt than usual.

The meeting with Eleanor Johannsen took almost two hours, going over the legal issues involved with becoming foster parents for Jenny. Dad and our lawyer, Bill Carstairs, did most of the talking, Jenny and I did most of the sitting quietly. JR, Elizabeth and Shannon spent most of the morning in the pool.

That finished almost in time for lunch; the lawyer told me that I had an appointment downtown with the police at one. After that, Dad and I conferred. I had my police interview and I had to pick up my car from Sue Ellen's. The girls wanted to be dropped off at Scottsdale Mall for the afternoon.

Dad drove them there first, and gave JR money for lunch at the food court. Dad and I ate a Church's Fried Chicken place for lunch, followed by another hour with the police.

They finally had someone competent to ask questions; although when I said something about it later, Bill Carstairs told me it was a deputy city attorney who'd been the intelligent one asking questions, not one of the detectives.

Afterwards, I asked Dad if we could stop off and visit Janey before we got my car.

Sure enough, there were a few cheerleaders there, including Gloria and Sue Ellen. Sue Ellen all but dragged me in to see Janey.

Janey was lying on her side, and when she saw me she grimaced. "I suppose if any guy should see me like this, it should be you." I wasn't sure what she meant; Sam's disgusting words still echoed in my ears. Janey waved at her midsection. "The bastard shot me in the ass. In one side, out the other."

I blushed, and Janey laughed. "Stupid son of a bitch!" Janey looked at me, shaking her finger at me in anger. "I wish you'd have killed him!"

I shook my head. "Even now, I don't want that." I looked at her, and decided that the police could go fuck themselves. "Janey, Sam's parents are missing. The police think he killed them; they're going to charge him with first-degree murder; special circumstances and all of that. Sam's on course for a lethal injection in a couple of years."

She looked at me, and then shook her head. "I've never had much use for my father, but he told me something that I've never forgotten when Mom wanted him to call in sick for her, because she had a hangover. 'Never do someone else's dirty work for them. You make it easier for them the next time to have you do it for them.' Six weeks later, my mother was busted for DWI; she could have killed someone. I'm sorry, Tom, it was a stupid thing to say. I wish I'd had a shot at him, though."

She looked at Sue Ellen, Gloria and two other girls. "The rest of you, let me have some time with Tom." The cheerleaders promptly filed out.

"I'm sorry about the other night," Janey told me.

"You don't have anything to apologize for."

"Oh," Janey murmured, "Sue Ellen had some words for me about leaving early. I had to think; life's been a bitch lately, and that's no shit."

I nodded. "Yeah!" We traded looks of mutual understanding.

"I don't think I'll ever be with a guy, not even going down on them any more." She waved at my midsection. "But if I do, he's going to have a hell of an act to follow, Tom."

"I just try to do the best I can," I told her. "That, and since I didn't perform at all, I'll be easy to beat."

"All these years, I never gave a shit, never thought about other people. I thought everyone was like me, just wanting to have fun. Now I don't even have Sue Ellen." Janey grimaced. "She and Tony are going to get back together."

I shrugged; what about Sue Ellen and Mindy? They'd been pretty tight at the party.

"I'm going to be here for a while, they have to do reconstructive surgery on my ass," she said with a grimace. "Damned son of a bitch!

"But I'll be out by the middle of the month. Then I have to take it easy for another couple of weeks. That'll run it out until the end of May. I'm going to have a party, a Janey party. Sue Ellen and I learned a lot from our party. So not all night, and not an orgy. Just a party for friends. You and Jennifer are invited."

"Thanks, Janey," I told her. As I said that, a nurse came in the room, looked at me pointedly. I told Janey to take care, and went back out in the hallway. Sue Ellen took me by the hand and dragged me to an empty waiting room a ways down the hall.

"It's been hell, let me tell you," Sue Ellen told me. "My parents think I did okay, but Tony's father grounded him."

Sue Ellen grinned at me. "I reminded my parents that I'd asked for and gotten their permission for the party. That it wasn't my fault, or anyone else's fault that Sam crashed it. But, somehow a lot of parents didn't hear about it being a coed sleep over. I pointed out to my parents that they'd known and approved, and told me I didn't need to have a chaperone if we would behave responsibly. As far as I'm concerned, we did."

I nodded; I wasn't entirely sure about my own actions, but in general, I thought she was right.

"Now, Janey's going to have another party after school is out. Coed, but no sleep over. Chaperones, so probably no hanky panky."

I laughed. "Three weeks ago, that was the kind of party I went to. Shouldn't be a big deal now."

"Tony and I are getting back together Friday night," Sue Ellen said, looking at me.

"I heard," I told her.

"Good. Poor Tony," Sue Ellen sighed. "Fleur's parents are only in town until the end of the week. Tony's grounded, and his father is determined to enforce it. I think that situation is about to explode; not a Sam Reese type explosion, but more like a Jennifer-type explosion. My dad told Tony that if he wanted, he could stay at our place. Kind of like Jennifer and you guys."

I wasn't sure that would work, but it might give Tony a chance to work something out with his father. There sure were a lot of tangled strands. Sue Ellen patted my cheek, "And thanks, Tom, for stopping Sam."

"I had help, and you sure did your part, too!"

She nodded, leaned close and hugged me. I felt her nipples come erect under her blouse and I backed away, embarrassed. Sue Ellen grinned, her voice dropped to a whisper. "Tom, like I said, Friday night for Tony. Before then, I want to be with you again. I don't know where, I don't know when just yet, but..."

Sue Ellen left, and I was left shaking my head in wonder. Why was it that one girl after another wanted to go to bed with me?

I was still standing there thinking, when Gloria came in; she'd been waiting in the hall. "Tom."

"Hi, Gloria!" I said with pleasure. She was looking much better than the last time I'd seen her. That and she was wearing shorts and a tank top; very, very nice!

"I got grounded," she told me.

"I figured."

"Then yesterday, that thing at Sue Ellen's. My parents think we are all wild and crazy."

"Sam's not going to be around again. Ever," I said with confident assurance, although I did add to myself, 'unless the police screw it up again.'

"Yeah," Gloria looked at me. "I wish I'd been there."

"Your family would have totally freaked out," I told her.

"Oh yeah!" Gloria said with emphasis. She looked at me for a long moment. "Could we go out sometime? I only got grounded for a week. Sue Ellen and Janey really went to bat for me with my parents."

My first thought was sarcastic and unworthy; no I didn't need to get an appointment book to keep track of my assignations. I met her eyes. "I'd like that," I told her.

"This Friday? You don't think it's too forward, me asking?"

"No," I told Gloria, "it's not too forward. In fact, one of these days real soon now, I should try asking a girl out." I'd asked Shannon out, once. Other than that, it was always the other way; except Marsha and that had more or less been the other way, too.

I got her address and phone number, and then went down to where Dad was waiting. "Sorry it took so long," I told him.

Dad shook his head. "I hate these places, Tom. Can't stand them. But so long as I have a good book," he held up a David Weber Honor Harrington book, "I'm happy."

We started off towards Sue Ellen's, and Dad started talking.

"I've been thinking a lot the last few days. Your mom and I, you and Joanna, Kim and Penny, about everything and everyone. I thought Shirley and Kim were pushing it, doing the intergenerational thing," he paused, looking around at the traffic stopped along with us at a light. "Then I made love to Joanna; one sexy girl who enjoys being loved with as much uninhibited abandon as any of us adults ever did. She really reminds me more of Kim than your Mom, but all of us were comfortable with each other and we shared a lot of great sex.

"Then Penny; every bit the same as Joanna. Then Jennifer." He glanced at me and I realized he was worried about what I thought about Jennifer and him being together.

I met his eyes and shook my head. "Don't worry about it."

He laughed, "Oh, like I could do that! Jennifer was different; altogether different from any other woman I've ever made love to. She wanted me to make love to her as an affirmation of her faith in the world; it wasn't about sex, it was about love and faith. I can't put the difference in words, but oh boy! I knew it when I saw it! Jennifer told me that I will always have a special place in her heart; that we share a love that few will ever know. And that we would make love again -- but it wouldn't be often. Just, she told me, very special."

"Jenny is a very special person." I sighed. "On one hand, I wish she'd had a family like ours, where love was the driving force, not force doing the driving. Then I realized that if she'd lived in a family like ours, we'd probably never have met her."

"Probably not," Dad agreed.

"And on the last hand, I wouldn't wish Jenny's family on anyone, anyone at all."

"Well, with a little luck, that's behind her." He stopped talking, pulled the car over to the side of the road.

"Oh my God!" I'd never seen my dad in tears before, but they were flowing right then. "Odds are her parents are dead and her brother is going to be executed for their murders, if they are. How easy it is to say things that should never be said! So very easy!"

I reached out and touched his arm. "I'm not sure but Jenny wouldn't agree with you, though."

"That still doesn't make it right." There wasn't anything to say to that. Finally, he looked at me. "We will help our friend get through this time. To the best of our abilities."

"Yes!" I said, with more enthusiasm. "We will help all of our friends to the best of our abilities."

He dropped me off at Sue Ellen's, went to pick up the others across town at the mall.

Tony and Sue Ellen were sitting around her pool, with a couple of people from school over, including Mindy and the girl Mindy had met at the party, Michelle Paz. Fleur had been there for a little while, earlier. I just told everyone hello, then drove on back to the hotel.

When I arrived, I was treading the heels of the police, who'd come to tell Jenny that they had located her parents. Her parents had been shot, and then hidden in the attic crawl space of their house. The initial search of the house had missed the bodies; once again the police were less than impressive. Not for the first time I was surprised how people like Joe Moss, and the detective who'd come to tell Jenny about her mother being attacked, could do their job and I felt every urge to applaud. Then some clowns would come along, leaving me angry and frustrated.

Jenny clung to me for a while, then Elizabeth took Jenny into Jenny's room, and the two snuggled down for a nap.

It was a somber dinner in the hotel restaurant, but afterwards, we played a game JR had bought during the afternoon. It was Monopoly, only based on Phoenix. It was a mild hoot to play for places we knew; Elizabeth was incredibly lucky and ended up owning everything.

Mom and Dad pled fatigue and vanished into their room; JR and Shannon vanished as well. Mary, Elizabeth, Jenny and I sat up a while longer, talking. Elizabeth was sitting next to me on a couch, Mary on the other side of me and Jenny on the other side of Elizabeth.

Elizabeth turned to me, lifting her lips to be kissed; out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jenny kissing Mary. I kissed Elizabeth, soft and sweet. There was passion, but more, something very much more. Elizabeth smiled at me, and then unbuttoned her blouse, shrugging it off. I'd known she wasn't wearing a bra; now I looked at her beautiful breasts, the fading bruise between them. "You need to kiss them to make them better," Elizabeth whispered.

I dipped my head down; this time there wasn't the reluctance I'd felt before, instead I savored her nipple, flicking it with my tongue. There was a soft sigh from next to me, Jenny had undone Mary's blouse and was tasting her beautiful breasts. Elizabeth leaned close, whispering in my ear. "Tom, you have a special ability to make women realize fully who they are. Not all of us can hear you, but those of us who can are lucky beyond any rational measure. Love me, Tom. Love me!"

"I'll always love you!" I told her.

She smiled, and I nuzzled her breasts again, licking her nipples to erect firmness. Odd again, I thought. Both Mary and Shannon's breasts were small like Elizabeth's; both had pale nipples, both got hard tips when they were excited. Elizabeth's nipples, when erect, stood out considerably, perhaps a half-inch, and the erect part of her nipple was the same size as her whole nipple. It made for a very easy, lovely target for my tongue and I spent some time licking and tonguing them.

I was enjoying it immensely when Elizabeth reached down, ran her fingers through my hair, then gently pushed me back. I looked up at her, curious. She smiled, and motioned to the door to the bedroom. I looked over at Mary and Jenny; Mary's finger was working inside Jenny's panties, Jenny's jeans had slid down a bit.

"Come," Elizabeth breathed.

I got up, held out my hand for Elizabeth and she took it. In a moment, the door was closed behind us, and Elizabeth started undoing my shirt, then my jeans. I slid her slacks down, and for a moment we stood nude, facing each other, each looking at the other.

"We need to talk again," Elizabeth told me. We walked hand in hand to the bed, sat down next to each other.

She faced me. "I'm not Shannon; I know it is your nature to love women and be loved in turn. I promise you, Tom, I'll love you forever; no matter how many you are with."

I reached up and stroked her cheek. "I don't know what to say. I can't believe that I've got two dates with other girls already lined up for this week. It seems unfaithful."

"Tom, you have to understand something. About me, about you. You and I, Tom, are going to share something wonderful. Not just children, but a deep love for each other that few people ever experience.

"My mom, Tom, gave herself, spent her life making Shannon and I as happy as kids could be. There were bumps, many bumps; more for Shannon than for me. Mom was always there, always taking care of us, looking out for us. That's a mom's job, Tom. Too many women want different things than a family and caring for them, these days. Worse, there are too many people like my father and Sam Reese; dark and lost. They are so twisted inside they can't see the world around them.

"The world can be a better place. I've thought about it now, since Dad died. I know he was angry and frustrated; his life seemed to be meaningless. Except he wasn't looking in the right place. My life has meaning! Shannon's life has meaning! Mom brought us into the world! Of all of us, she has the most meaning...

"One day, I'm going to be a famous mathematician. Shannon is going to be a world-class violinist! That's meaning! But Dad got all twisted; he didn't see us, he didn't see Mom, he just saw himself, alone.

"You can't measure your life, Tom, looking in the mirror. Each of us is part of the world; we have to look around us, Tom. Look at the people around us, see what effect we have on their lives.

"And that's why I've come to love you so much. You understand, Tom. You look at people and see them in the world. You aren't afraid to stand up and be counted, you're not afraid to tell people the truth, even if they don't want to hear it. You are kind, gentle and loving.

"Mom is in a special place right now; kind of in shock. Her world was destroyed. One minute she was comfortable, the next she was turned upside down and dumped in the trash, heedless and carelessly. Mom needs you, Tom. She needs you desperately to affirm her as a woman, as a human being. And Tom, I tell you true, I am going to help with that. The three of us, Tom. Together until..." Elizabeth gently kissed my forehead. "Well, it's going to be a long time the three of us will have each other. You'll be surprised at how long.

"Jennifer has met Katrina, the true love of her life. You Tom, you pulled Jennifer back from the blackest abyss of the human mind and spirit as exists. If it wasn't for you, she'd have been as black and twisted as her brother. You healed her, Tom. Nothing in your life will exceed that miracle.

"Both Jennifer and Katrina will be great moms. And both will want you to father their children. One day, Jennifer will rise up on a pillar of fire into space, and do great things for humanity, Tom. Because of you. You saved her for all of us, and that will mean more than you can imagine.

"Shannon and Joanna will also love each other for eternity. One day they will be happily married to the kind of men your father and uncle are, they will have children like you and she, like Penny. As will you and I, Tom.

"And in time to come, you will meet others you can help, others you can heal. Tom, never ever will I begrudge you; I know what you mean to me, to others. And all of us, Tom, all of us, Mom, me, Shannon, Joanna, Jennifer... we'll always be there for you, too."

It had been an astounding litany; I felt stunned and awed. So many things!

Was it really possible to see the future? I'd been there, next to Elizabeth, when she nearly died; there was no doubt in my mind, none, that her heart attack had happened the instant her father had been stabbed to death. That the feelings she'd had, had been the same things her father had experienced in his last minutes.

I remembered Elizabeth telling me that this night she and I would love each other; that tomorrow night there would be three of us. I looked at her, smiling and radiant. I leaned close, kissing her. The kiss was the most passionate kiss of my life; I do not think that anything will ever be its equal.

I've seen campfires, watched flames spiral and curl around each other. Our tongues did that, then our spirits. I can't explain in words what it was like; I could feel her spirit reach out, wrap around me. It lifted me, intertwined with mine, whirling and dancing, mixing through and through.

That first time with Elizabeth was true primal passion; my body seethed with emotions and hormones, there was nothing else in the universe but Elizabeth. Our bodies met, matched; I slid inside her easily and more naturally than any woman I'd known. And even as intense as it was, I felt the obstruction; as I'd done with Sally, I couldn't bring myself to press through. And as with Sally, I wasn't in control, not for that. Elizabeth wrapped her hands around my bottom and pulled me deep into her.

Then it was velvet heaven; the sweetest vessel a man ever filled, perfectly formed and perfectly primed. She lifted against me, I drove down into her, passionate plunges and surges. Our arms were around each other, our legs woven together.

I have no idea how long we made love that time; it was quick and bright, infinite and timeless. I spent myself into her as she rocked and shivered, trembling in bliss.

The blaze passed, and I was looking into Elizabeth's eyes. I remember two things, things I'll never forget. I remember leaning down, brushing her fine red hair with my lips. I remember my erection shriveling. Then I was asleep and remembered nothing.