Book 1 of “The Catalyst” Series
Chapter 08: Meeting the Family
Standing in front of the door of Anh’s home, the one she’d just been thrown out of by her son, I knocked loudly and held Anh tight as we waited for a response. We heard rapid, decisive footsteps approaching and figured her son was prepared for a confrontation. The door swung forcefully open, revealing a smallish, slim, but well-muscled man glaring back at me. He was wearing well-worn jeans and an older t-shirt that looked to be three sizes too small. The sounds and images of a crowded household filtered around him: the ticking of competing old-style mechanical clocks, the soft whistle of a tea kettle in the kitchen, the smell of teas, honey and jasmine, the sounds of toys being rustled. The living room behind him was crowded with a variety of household knick-knacks: children's books, jade and ivory sculptures, small glass ornaments in a worn antique cabinet, and throws and pillows littering a well-worn couch.
I didn’t let his small size fool me as I regarded this man who daily braved the rough environment of a gulf shrimper. For all I knew he was versed in whatever the Vietnamese version of kung-fu or jiu-jitsu was. With a contemptuous glare, he summarily looked me up and down, sneering at his perception of me, before finally addressing me.
“So you’re the mysterious Alex, huh?” he asked dismissively in accented but fluent English.
“Yes, I am,” I answered, returning his glare with a steady, confident gaze. “I believe you have your mother’s things. She’ll be needing them.” I hoped such an approach wouldn’t be considered confrontational, but I still wanted to convey that we were willing to stand our ground in supporting Ahn’s interests.
“You’re not going to get her money, you know,” he told me summarily.
“Money? Is that what this is all about?” I asked, a little incensed. “What makes you think I even want her money?”
“What else is a pretty boy like you offering that sweeps a little old woman off her feet? I don’t know what kind of scam you’re pulling, but it stops here!” he hissed emphatically with a dismissive chopping motion. He faced me head on, getting right into my face in a challenging affront.
Ignoring him I stepped forward, guiding Anh around her son, telling her gently, “Get your things,” before responding to him.
“I’m not interested in your mother’s money. We’ve become friends and are concerned for her safety tonight.”
“Yeah,” he sneered at me, “you and all your women? With an old man as backup?” He certainly seemed to be ready for a fight. I’d have to watch myself so I didn’t get him any more worked up than he already was, but I wasn’t about to back down or apologize for something I didn’t feel.
“The women are no concern of yours,” I insisted, trying to keep his attention on me and not on the people surrounding me. “They’re friends of Anh’s and are here to help her. The ‘old man’ is my father and is legally responsible for my actions until I reach 18, so he has every right to be here as well.”
“Then he should be preventing you from taking advantage of my mother. You’re ‘friends’ with her? You’ve known her for all of one day and suddenly you know her better than I do? You don’t even speak Vietnamese, how the hell do you know what she wants?”
“I’m pretty sure I know what she wants more than you do,” I challenged. I’ll admit it, I was pretty smug. It’s easy to be smug when you feel you have plenty of people in your corner, but I noticed then that the house was full of people watching the two of us; everyone from adults to little kids, Vicky amongst them. She was wide eyed watching the unfolding events.
Suddenly I felt a feeling of panic and dread, and stupidly, I responded by turning back toward Shani and Allison—who I felt sure it was coming from—instead of watching out for myself. Only at the last moment did I detect motion out of the corner of my eye as I focused on his fist, balled up, moving rapidly towards my face. Everything slowed way down and I could see the hand slowly advancing towards me, and I could think clearly about it but couldn’t do anything to move out of the way or respond in any other way. I had time to think ‘I’m glad it’s a regular punch instead of a round-house kick to the head’ and then ‘Man, this is gonna hurt!’ Just before impact I heard, clearly and distinctly, a chorus of “Oh fuck!”, “Watch out Alex!” and a “Damn Bao!” and I remember thinking, ‘Who the fuck is getting so excited’. Then BAM! I went flying.
Again, everything was moving in slow motion. I distinctly felt the fist connect with my cheek, as my face was looking away from him; I think he’d been aiming at my nose. I heard the smack of solid fist hitting damp, soft flesh. I felt my head snap back and my body begin to fly backwards as I descended the stairs without touching them. But strangely I didn’t feel much pain. It seems that when my mind snapped into hyper mode and everything slowed down, that my nerves had yet to catch up. I think that’s also why my mind was initially distracted when the voices shouted out—I wasn’t able to take in the sudden change of perspective. Nothing made much sense for quite a while after that. I remembered sailing through the air in slow motion, watching the background gradually move past as I memorized each and every event in my horizon. I heard screams, both my family’s behind me as well as the children’s, but whether in horror or support I had no clear clue. I remember hoping Frank, my father, wouldn’t try to defend me, as I didn’t think he was really in any shape to help. Finally I wondered whether Anh would be packed soon, as I wasn’t sure how much more of this I could take before she was ready.
Then I came crashing down hard against the concrete walkway, hearing my clothing tear and my back scrape as I slid backwards. Everything surrounding me seemed to fly past as my senses returned to normal again. It took several long seconds for my backwards motion to finally come to rest, as I kept trying to reach out for something to slow myself down with.
As soon as I came to a halt I rolled onto my side trying to regain my feet, preparing myself for whatever he might try next. Not having a clear view of him, I didn’t know what to expect. Finally standing, facing what I thought was the right direction, I saw four women all beating on Anh’s son at the same time. I assumed this was Bao, since I seemed to recall it had been Anh’s voice that had just damned him. Man, were they beating on him with a vengeance. He was shielding his face with his hands as their blows rained down upon him.
“Enough!” I called out, knocking some pebbles from my arm and wincing at the resulting sting. “This is between Bao and me.” Instantly they all glanced back at me in amazement and the women backed away from my opponent. I cautiously stepped forward as a feeling of calm swept over me. I figured it was probably nothing more than early shock taking hold, but I’d put it to as much use as I could before it started incapacitating me.
“You speak of my not knowing Vietnamese,” I got out, my speech slightly slurred due to my mangled face, but still sounding about right to my ears at least, “but it’s not me who forgot the meaning of honor, of family, of respecting the wisdom of one’s elders, of working through one’s problems on one’s own rather than the all too common American habit of beating up on anyone who opposes you before listening to anything they have to say.” Bao’s head tilted, his countenance showing his confusion over this odd tactic I’d chosen, lecturing him during a fist fight.
“You ignore your own mother’s wisdom and experience, as well as her own free will and choice in the matter. You strike before I have an opportunity to either defend myself or explain what happened. You bully me, your mother and your daughter, just because it’s easier than asking yourself a couple of tough questions.” I was on a roll now. I kept the questions coming as I kept advancing on him, forcing him to take a step backwards as he tried to figure out what I was saying. The physical confrontation of my rapid approach and close physical proximity, combined with the intellectual challenge of figuring out what I was asking and trying to formulate a response had him confused and unprepared for it, he tried to step back to gain enough time to fathom it. But since I was advancing on him, I had him off balance, both physically and mentally.
“He’s right, Bao,” came a sharp retort to my right. I glanced briefly in that direction, not wanting to take my eyes off Bao as I briefly slowed my advance. “You forget who you are and where you come from.” It was Anh, sharply rebuking her son from the other direction, and boy, did she look angry. I was stunned to realize I could hear and understand each word she said, but didn’t have time to consider any possible explanations for it.
“You’re familiar with reincarnation, aren’t you? You remember that much of our heritage at least?” she prompted, to which he mumbled an incoherent response, his eyes flitting about looking for a way out, unable to meet her insistent gaze. “Well, in a past life I was a Vietnamese. Then, in a subsequent life I was a Vietnamese-American. However, now I’ve passed from those lives into an afterlife where I am surrounded by spirits. I see spirits of all living things, and I am surrounded by a family of faithful spirits who are lead by a mighty spirit. One who, just like the stories of old you give lip service to, takes on human form in order to walk the physical world. Just like them, he walks in a humble form of a harmless boy, not because he is, but just as a test on the character of the humans around him. A test you’ve failed miserably! You attempt to beat up a young boy just because you can? Alex is much stronger than you. He stands head and shoulders above you in strength, ability and character, as you’ve shown yourself to be the little man you are!”
Whew, was I ever glad she wasn’t this pissed at me! I planned to stay on her good side in the near future.
In the back of my mind I realized that I was hearing her speaking in clear, concise English, even though I could hear the Vietnamese and could see her lips moving in sync with non-English words. But that wasn’t in the front of my mind and I was too focused on what was happening to give it my full attention. Anh seemed to take a deep breath as she reached the end of her speech and waited for a response.
I saw Bao let out a deep, resigned sigh as he seemingly collapsed in on himself.
“You’re right,” he freely admitted. “I’ve fallen victim to my American side. I’ve belittled myself with my assumptions, and shamed my family with my arrogance.” He glanced at me as if pleading for something.
“Will you accept my apologies, Mr. Alex?” I was surprised the fight went out of him so swiftly.
I tilted my head as I took in this change of tenor and then came to a quick decision. “I’d be honored to, Mr. Bao. By your ability to recognize your failings and own up to them, you reveal yourself to be an honorable man.” I held my hand out in the time honored American tradition. My opponent looked at it a moment, then shook it briefly before pulling me into a big hug. I couldn’t believe how this was turning out.
He quickly backed away and looked at me warily. “I still don’t trust you at all,” he warned. “I can’t understand what you seek to gain from my mother, or why you tell her such crazy, demented stories. I still suspect you to be some cherub faced con-man attempting to sway my mother for financial gain. But I’m willing to listen to any rational response you can present.”
“Ha,” I briefly laughed, “nothing I can say is very rational, as nothing I’ve faced recently is very sensible. My story is very disturbed and makes no more sense to me than it does to you. Half of this crazy story has been told to me just as you've heard it, both by your mother and by my other friends here,” I said, indicating the determined women who still looked ready to beat his ass given a moment’s notice. “I didn’t set out to gain anything, and even now only seek basic knowledge, nothing more.
“I hope your mother can offer some sense and rationality based on her knowledge of things from your home country, but I’m afraid the craziness will only continue. I mean no disrespect, as I deeply honor your mother, but I don’t know what the future holds for the two of us. However I feel we are intrinsically tied together.” Finally, he asked me to sit and we held a guarded discussion, while the other occupants of the house looked on as if we were both demented. After a while, Anh came out carrying a heavy bag.
“I can see your mother has prepared her things, so I’m assuming she still insists on leaving with us. I honor her wisdom and acquiesce to her desires. Just be aware that it is her decision, not mine, as I do not control your mother.” Anh then proceeded to rattle off a bunch of Vietnamese, which it suddenly occurred to me I couldn’t understand a word of, but I didn’t bother to try to figure it out and just let the language wash over me as it wasn’t directed at me. Or at least I didn’t think it was, as suddenly Anh was glaring at me expectantly, so I quickly jumped up and ran to grab the single suitcase she was carrying. She apparently had a few of them already packed and prepared in her bedroom, so my family rushed to help her out. There were hugs and crying all around, so we just faded into the background as Anh and her extended family got their feelings out in their own language. I felt they deserved their privacy. We finally managed to gracefully exit the house and gravitate to the three cars, my parents’, Shani’s and Anh’s little compact. Not wanting the little woman to travel alone, I got in beside her, and suddenly found the backseat filled with both Cate and Allison, leaving my poor father and Shani to travel back alone in relative ignorance. We finally drove off to farewells and multiple waving relatives.
“What the hell was that all about?” asked Cate insistently, demanding an explanation.
“You don’t understand a simple fistfight?” I teasingly asked, shooting her my best 'Aw, shucks’ expression.
“I understood that,” she replied, rolling her eyes at my attempt to defray her question, “as much as there was of it, since it was mostly you bouncing off of their steps. But what I didn’t understand was that long diatribe by Anh.”
I turned and glanced back at Allison. “Did you understand any of it?” I asked.
“Yeah, not all, but I got most of it,” she replied. “I’d get much of it, but then I’d hear the Vietnamese and lose a few words and then it would flip back to English.”
“How…? Oh,” sighed my sister, the realization suddenly blossoming in her expression. “You got an ongoing translation as it was happening?” The tone of her words spoke of her awe, rather than the doubt and skepticism I’d expected.
“Yeah, it was strange, one second they were fighting, then Alex goes all mental and psycho on him, talking a bunch of nonsense, then suddenly Anh starts speaking English.”
“It wasn’t English,” corrected Cate. “I couldn’t understand any of it. Luckily her son was speaking English for most of it.”
“Bao,” I informed her, “and what do you mean ‘most’ of it?”
“He was so excited he was switching back and forth between English and Vietnamese, I could only understand a certain amount of it. And what’s a ‘Bao’?”
“Bao is her son’s name,” explained Allison.
“Oh, that makes sense. Did she tell us that at some point?” Cate asked.
“No, she never really told us about her family. I just heard her using his name,” I responded, not detailing the context I’d heard it in.
“So what did she say that calmed him down like that?” Cate asked, so I proceeded to give her the gist of what had been said. That discussion and explanation took quite a bit of the trip. When it neared the end I turned to Anh and asked “So what are you feeling about all of this?”
Although I asked the question in English she answered me, and I understood it, even though she answered in steady stream of Vietnamese, which I could also hear in the background.
“I’m fine but exhausted. I was so scared when Bao threw me into the street. I immediately thought of you and suddenly felt you there, guiding me, so I started walking back towards you. I knew it was silly, but I couldn’t stay there. I felt you searching for me and knew you’d be able to find me. I’m sorry I hadn’t told you where I lived before, but you managed to find me anyway.”
“That was Vicky’s doing,” I explained, “she managed to sneak in a phone call telling us where to find you.”
“Well I’m glad of that,” she replied, smiling at me, her thankfulness apparent in her eyes. I noticed Cate giving me confused looks out of my peripheral vision, but Allison proceeded to offer a halting translation as we continued to speak.
“When I brought Vicky home, I proceeded to tell my family that I was leaving to follow a mighty spirit on an important mission,” Anh explained to us. “Both he and his wife blew up at that point. The more I explained, the worse it got. When they discovered you were only a teenager, they started going on about American con-men. When Vicky tried to defend you they started to get really nasty.”
“I can imagine,” I told her. “I seem to be moving from one crisis to the next, one awkward scene after another.”
“Then Bao insisted that ‘if he wants you for your money, then we’ll see what he thinks when you have none!’ and he physically threw me out of the house. I didn’t have anything with me at the time, but I wasn’t worried. I knew you’d recognize that I was in trouble.” She seemed to have lots of confidence in my supernatural abilities that I didn’t share.
“Yeah, I felt you trying to connect with me, but it was only Vicky’s call that let us find you.” She didn’t let that little fact disturb her recital of facts, though.
“When you finally found me it was such a relief. I was so glad you came to rescue me. I felt like I had been reunited with my new family after having left my old one.”
“Mi casa es su casa,” I responded, though I’m sure my pronunciation was off.
She smiled at me in response, making me wonder whether she spoke Spanish or whether I was still translating my own words as I spoke. “I’m glad about that, since I seem to have invited myself to live with you. What do your parents think about that?”
“Well, Dad didn’t object while the whole discussion was occurring,” I responded. “He told me I needed to be willing to deal with the consequences of my actions just before we arrived.”
“Then you haven’t had a chance to discuss it in detail yet,” she told me. I acknowledged her point and continued, while Cate still tried to follow what we were discussing.
“And we still have to explain to both my parents what happened,” I continued.
“Oh, your mother,” groaned Anh.
Allison immediately whispered to Cate, who quickly dug out her cell phone and started dialing.
“Mom?” she responded when the call was answered. “Yeah, we’re OK. Alex got punched, though. You’d better get some bandages ready.” I winced hearing that, thinking of Mom’s reaction to the news. However the wince also reminded me that my jaw was really beginning to hurt now. I opened and closed my mouth just to make sure there wasn’t any serious damage, but aside from some stiffness and a general ache, I seemed to be fine. My back stung like a son of a bitch, though.
“No, it doesn’t seem to be so bad,” Cate continued, as I listened to her one-sided conversation with our mother. “He’s a bit bruised and scuffed up but he seems OK. I think his shirt is trashed, though.” My shirt was the least of my worries, though it made me worry about whether I was unintentionally leaving bloodstains on Anh’s car seat. I was sure I’d suffered more injuries from scrapping my back than from being punched.
Cate listened to the response before replying. “It’s complicated and I don’t understand it all. Alex is … explaining it to me.” Cate clearly didn’t want to address my newfound translation abilities, especially not in the middle of her tale about what had happened to me to my already worried mother. That was a subject that deserved a separate discussion, though she quickly came back and tried to provide some small explanation that would temporarily mollify our mother. “No, apparently he got an ongoing translation as it was happening. Apparently the excitement kicked up his abilities a notch.”
Now that the excitement was over and we were all coming down, I considered that. It certainly seemed to have triggered a significant enhancement to our abilities. Before it was a struggle to figure out what someone was trying to communicate to me, now not only were the messages clear but I could literally receive simultaneous translations from other speakers as well. I had understood everything that Bao had said, not even stopping to consider that it wasn’t spoken in perfect English.
“They ended up just sitting and talking. Alex talked about being confused by it all and stated that Anh’s son, Bao, said something about not wanting Alex to trick his mother.” Apparently I’d have to do a better job of describing events when we did it again for my parents.
“Yes, we all stand up for our moms,” Cate conceded, smiling in response to our mother while rolling her eyes for my benefit. “Anyway, we’ll discuss it fully when we get back. Bye, Mom.” She hung up and returned her attention to us. “She’s already talked to Dad. He gave her some basics but no details.”
“You know, mental warnings aren’t much good if you don’t listen to them,” I offered as a general philosophical point to anyone listening.
“Yeah,” responded Allison, smacking me on the arm, “You turn around to see who might be speaking in your head!” I laughed and Anh asked for a quick translation. Apparently we still had a bit to work out this mental translation between individuals thing.
“I couldn’t help it,” I replied. “I’m not used to voices telling me to ‘Beware’,” I bemoaned.
“I don’t recall anyone using quite that language,” Allison replied archly.
“No, you didn’t. Still, when I felt the surprise my first thought was to protect all of you.”
“From what, a magic fist that flies through your head to strike us several feet behind you?” She was busy hamming it up now that she had an audience and knew that all the possible danger was long past. I didn’t let it get to me, knowing we each needed this level of teasing to help ease the tensions.
“I’m not defending it as the smartest response,” I protested. “I’m just explaining why I reacted like I did.”
“I’ll call Shani, I’m sure she’s wondering what’s happening,” Cate said. “I’m sure Mom’s busy contacting everyone else already.”
“Hold on, Cate, I want to try something.” I had no idea what kind of limitations we had in these abilities, but our tests at the hotel had shown that physical objects didn’t seem to block our communications, as weak as they were then. Neither had distance limited the other girls’ awareness that something was wrong tonight. Maybe I could reach Shani on my own.
It took a moment to figure out just what I was doing; apparently what came naturally in a crisis took a bit longer to work out in practice.
‘Hey, Shani?’ I mentally called out.
‘Ow! A little quieter please, there’s no volume control inside my head,’ she complained.
I apologized and she continued. ‘Hey there, stud,’ she responded. ‘Man, this is better than Bluetooth! So what’s up? Is everyone OK?’
‘Everyone but me,’ I responded. ‘Still, I think my ego is bruised more than my face is.’
‘Ha, you were wonderful. You have nothing to be ashamed of,’ she enthused.
‘Thanks, I did feel pretty confident when it was happening,’ I acknowledged.
‘It’s like Anh said. Just follow your instincts and you’ll do the right thing.”
‘I can only hope so,’ I told her. ‘I can only hope so.’
I proceeded to give her a brief update on Anh’s status and told her she could phone the other girls if she wanted before I returned my attention to the other’s in the car with me.
“Sorry,” I told them, “it took a bit more time to talk it out than I thought.”
“That’s OK,” Allison replied. “Actually I picked up some of it. I guess I was listening in somewhat.”
“Are you kidding?” Cate asked, leaning forward in her excitement. “You just stopped talking to us a few seconds ago. Man, I’ve got to figure out how you do that. That’s SO neat! And while you’re driving the car as well.”
“Well, it’s a lot easier than it was before,” I explained. “I guess you were right, the emotional response has a lot to do with it. It seems the basic abilities are the same, when I was in trouble and the adrenaline started flowing suddenly all of us got a kick in our combined abilities.”
“Yeah, we’ll be discussing this quite a bit once we all calm down,” she warned me. “I want all the details and we’ll be conducting more tests as well. The sooner we can understand this, the better equipped you’ll be to handle it in the future.”
“So anything else the rest of you want to discuss about it now?” I asked after a few moments of silence, figuring that everyone was probably as worked up about it as I was.
“It was strange,” explained Allison, “I saw this bright angry flare in his aura, and I just knew he was going to hit you. I just got so angry all I wanted to do was to kill him!”
“Yeah, you don’t need extrasensory perceptions to get that.” Cate responded to her. “I wanted to kill him, too!”
“So if you can clearly see anger, especially if you see it moments before someone explodes, then I’ll definitely pay more attention to it,” I promised, hoping a similar event wouldn’t occur again.
“We can only hope,” Allison sighed, while Anh vigorously nodding her head in agreement. Apparently either I was broadcasting a translation for her or she was just guessing from the context.
“I’ve been hoping he’d suddenly get smarter for years,” griped Cate, generating a cascade of laughter from the women. I’m not so sure smarter would have helped in any of the situations I’d recently found myself in.
We arrived back at the hotel tired and weary. The late hour, long drive and slow let down after all the excitement were doing us in. However there was a somewhat lengthy explanation for both Mom and Dad about exactly what had happened. Needless to say, they weren’t the only one’s there when we arrived. Natalie, Patricia and Henry were clustered in my parents’ small hotel room waiting for us, and each wanted a full recounting of events.
Then there was the whole discussion over what the future held. It seems Anh worked as her family’s accountant, numbers being easier to master than language, so that helped as to what she might be able to do in the future. But there wasn’t a very large Vietnamese population in Southern Illinois, so if she returned with us she’d mostly work for us, and we’d still be responsible for providing for her. We’d get some benefit from it, but she couldn’t realistically expect to get many other clients with her limited English skills.
The other girls remained silent through most of the discussion about Anh’s future, as they didn’t want to confuse her issues with their own. After all, my parents had promised them they’d discuss the issue with them tomorrow, so they had no need to intrude on the current discussion. I was still nervous about being responsible for everyone, but with my accepting the obligation of caring for Anh, as limited as my share of that was, I could hardly complain about everyone else moving nearby. They could get a job and be independent after all, thus the only imposition would be on my time and attention. We concluded with Anh telling us she needed to clean up some details near her home.
That got me thinking about the other women. Undoubtedly they’d each need to tell their families something, and it was likely that when they did, that there’d be questions about a grown woman leaving her whole life behind to follow a young teenager living with his parents. That was not something I was looking forward to. I could just picture their reactions when informed their precious daughters were moving out into the country to be closer to their new, white, teenaged ‘interest’; especially when you combined that with their clear fascination and deference to me, and the potential of somebody blabbing about Angels and Spirits. But that only brought up the fact that we’d need a better way of explaining why I suddenly had a group of adult women of various racial backgrounds and ages interested in me. Needless to say, by the time I finally went to bed, I was hardly ready for sleep despite my obvious exhaustion.
“I guess we should make arrangements for renting rooms for everyone,” my father suggested, glancing at everyone sitting around me, “or at least one big room for the women to share.”
Everyone turned to me, as if expecting me to say something. Allison looked particularly upset, her lip trembling slightly as her eyes looked slightly panicky. The others looked like they were already resigned to whatever I decided. Not sure how to interpret their looks, I hesitated before replying.
“Forget it, Frank,” Mom said, laughing at his naiveté. “Since he’s already accepted responsibility for them, he’d best get used to having them around, because he won’t be able to beat them away with a stick at this point.” Dad started to say something, but words failed him and Mom simply stood and moved towards the door, laughing all the way. “You’ll never learn,” she called back. “You keep hoping you can protect kids, but just like Becky, once they start attracting people, there’s not much you can do anymore.”
As she reached the door, Mom turned and looked me in the eyes, her own glinting with mirth. “It’ll be fun watching you deal with sleeping with someone older than I am,” she said, laughing gleefully before she disappeared.
I couldn’t help it; I grimaced at that particular mental image.
Allison and Natalie both giggled at Mom’s remarks, while Shani blushed. Anh simply glanced from one person to another, trying to guess what was so funny, arching her eyebrow at me. I figured that I’d have plenty of time to tell her about it later. Much, much later, hopefully.
Turning to me, Dad simply shrugged. “I guess it’s out of my hands,” he said fatalistically. “You’re on your own, kid. I hope you’re ready for what you’re getting yourself into. Just remember what I said about accepting responsibility. We’re leaving how you handle these women to you, but you’ve got to seriously consider what that responsibility means before you do anything.” With that he turned and walked out, waving to the girls as he left.
I stood, glancing at everyone with what I imagined was a shell-shocked look on my face. The girls laughed again at my bewildered reaction. Anh suddenly burst out laughing, and I knew then that one of the girls had just translated the joke to her. I groaned, dreading working out sleeping arrangements and debating the implications of said arrangements.
I realized that Mom’s point, and her humor at my situation, was that Anh was unlikely to argue that Mom was wrong. But that left what to do with everyone. I knew that everyone lived nearby, but I wasn’t sure that would help. I turned and looked beseechingly at Patricia.
“Well, it’s been fun, but I think it’s getting late and if I don’t get home, I’ll be too tired to practice tomorrow,” Patricia explained, taking the hint and standing up and taking Henry’s hand. He didn’t need any convincing and got up quickly, looking relieved to be leaving.
Next I turned to Natalie, trying the same technique. “Uhm, I’d better head home so I can shower and change for work. I’ve got to work tomorrow morning,” she explained, smiling at me as she passed by me, letting me know she was enjoying how uncomfortable I was. But I also noted her smile was mixed with more than a twinge of disappointment. I’m sure she knew we were all too tired to do anything tonight, but I don’t think that was the issue. Everyone simply wanted to stay with me, whatever that entailed.
I also considered that Natalie had her own issues. She didn’t think she was on the same footing as the others, not having the full range of abilities as them. I’d have to have a serious talk to her about that, but I put that concern off until later. I still had too much on my plate for now. Besides, it would be hard talking to her about something so personal with everyone watching me so expectantly.
Turning to the others, I saw that Mom wasn’t the only one amused. Cate had a silly grin that just wouldn’t quit. I didn’t say anything, and perhaps picking up on my discomfort the other women got up and began turning the beds down, saving me from having to discuss the situation. Cate shook her head, smiling all the way to the bathroom.
However, everyone’s attempt to make things easier didn’t save me entirely, as the women made a big show of undressing, knowing I’d be unable to look away.
They were taking it seriously, acting like sleeping with me was an everyday event, but Allison was grinning as much as Cate had been, though her grin had a predatory look to it, with a particularly piercing gleam in her eye. I could see why her red hair was so fitting on her; it fit her temperament to a T. Something her clients must have appreciated.
When Cate exited the bathroom the hem of my t-shirt swished around her narrow hips, which wasn’t actually unusual for her as she liked sleeping in the larger shirts. But it was clear that she was enjoying my pain a little too much. Every time she’d catch me sneaking a peak at someone, she would grin at me with a tiny smile that let me know that I wasn’t fooling anyone.
“OK, we’ve got two beds and five people,” I announced, tired of dancing around the topic. “I don’t particularly care who sleeps where, as I’m too tired to worry about it. Anyone that wants to cuddle is welcome to, but I’m planning on finally getting some sleep.” With that I strode to the bed, removed my clothing, dropping it on the chair by my bed without pausing to glance at anyone else, and climbed into bed bare-butt naked, settling in and closing my eyes hoping beyond hope that everyone would choose to sleep somewhere else.
That hope proved short lived, though. After hearing isolated noises for several minutes, I finally felt the bed shifting as someone climbed into bed. I tried to ignore it, pretending I was fast asleep. Someone did indeed cuddle up to me, and then I felt the bed shift in the other direction.
As hard as I was pretending to sleep, my penis had no such pretensions. It was sitting up and begging for attention. I chose to ignore it, just as I was ignoring the women as they both cuddled up against me.
As much as I’d love to eat the whole scene up—me sleeping with several beautiful women who had no problem doing whatever they could to please me—the combination of Dad’s warnings, my own fear of commitment, my worry about living up to everyone’s expectations, and the knowledge that Cate was lying there watching everything kept me from acting on my baser instincts. Sleep, obviously, was a long ways away. And while I pretended to sleep, keeping my eyes firmly shut, my mind was racing throughout the night as I tried to decide what I really wanted: to act out my desires, to act like I should, or conversely like they expected me to, or running screaming into the night.
And those weren’t my only issues. I could tell that Anh felt the same way towards me that Shani did, probably more so since I’d just come in like a Knight in shining armor to rescue her, so I could hardly reject her. She’d be crushed, whatever I thought about sleeping with someone’s grandmother.
I also had issues with Allison. As lovely as she was, and as eager as she was for me to accept her and forgive her for how she’d lived her life, I couldn’t ignore what she did. I had to question whether she had picked up any diseases, whether she’d judge me for my lack of experience, or whether she’d be too demanding sexually. Frankly, she both scared and intimidated me. And Shani, I’d still not figured out how to handle her. While the others were waiting to see how I handled them, she had made clear that she was making a role for herself in my life whether I like it or not. That scared me as well, mainly because I didn’t know what that may involve in the future. I never came to any conclusion about how to handle any of it, but I eventually fell asleep anyway.
Awaking from a pleasant dream that I really couldn’t recall or reclaim, I thought how nice it felt having warm pillows rubbed against my chest, how comforting it was having my cock stroked, and how pleasant it was kissing beautiful mermaids. It took several moments for my brain to catch up, but when it did my eyes snapped open.
It was still pitch dark, but the glow from the window reminded me that I was in a motel room. I was trying to remember how I’d gotten there, but the woman playing tonsil hockey with my tongue was a bit distracting. It was especially hard to think as her hand wrapped around my erection.
“Umm smoph meh,” I improvised, though it was hard expressing myself with someone in my mouth.
I felt someone quietly giggling against my chest, as my mind suddenly figured out those things poking into my chest were a pair of naked breasts, something I’d dreamed about many times, but had never experienced firsthand before.
I reached up, trying to identify who I was kissing as things finally started falling into place as I recalled what had happened last night. A realization that was helped when whomever I was kissing rubbed my sore cheek the wrong way and I jerked back in pain.
That broke the kiss, and though the person pulled back, I still couldn’t identify them in the dark, especially since she was silhouetted against the only available light.
“Sorry,” she whispered, not loud enough for me to place her voice. My hands continued searching for context, touching first her sides, which felt soft, then slid up looking for some definition. I didn’t find any flowing hair, so I knew it wasn’t Allison. That left Shani, though I couldn’t remember whether Natalie had stayed the night or not.
To confirm my identification, I reached higher and touched her short hair. But instead of it being the shorter, thicker hair I expected, I found longer thinner hair, although it felt nothing like I expected Allison’s to feel like.
“Who…?” I quietly whispered, a little insistently. But I was answered by a couple of whispered giggles.
“I told you he wouldn’t know,” I heard from my left, a direction I hadn’t expected, as the person I’d been kissing was still breathing by my face.
Then it hit me, the voice speaking was older, the voice not as soft. I involuntarily recoiled slightly, but it was enough to cause them both to laugh.
“You’re too much,” Shani answered from above me.
“It was just too much to resist. It was taking you so long to wake up, we knew you’d have no idea what was happening,” Anh explained from beside me. “It was my idea to drape my own hair over Shani’s.”
“You know, the three of you are making it a bit difficult for the rest of us to sleep,” Cate complained from the other bed.
“Speak for yourself,” Allison insisted. “I’m enjoying this.”
I now knew where everyone was, though it didn’t help to explain just what was going on. Anh close that moment to press against me, and I felt a pair of breast pressing against me which weren’t quite as firm as Shani’s.
I struggled not to overreact. I don’t know how well I did, but they didn’t embarrass me by laughing this time. Instead Anh took her hands and pulled my face to hers, which I didn’t try to resist, and she kissed me.
She did it tenuously, just pressing her lips against mine, but when I didn’t resist, she pressed them more firmly against mine, and when I kissed her back her lips opened questioningly, and I figured ‘in for a penny’ and slipped my tongue into her mouth.
She moaned, pressing against me that much more. The hand stroking me, which had stopped when I’d first broken the kiss, began its pleasant actions again.
This time it was I who moaned, even though I knew full well whom I was kissing, and what it entailed. I tried to keep images of her being older than my mother and of her granddaughter Vicky from my mind, but I actually had a harder time trying to ignore her sagging breasts, since they stood in such sharp contrast to Shani’s, pressing into me from above. However the mood was broken by Shani giggling again, though it could tell it was a nervous laugh.
As Anh broke the kiss, I pulled back and considered where things stood.
It was quite delicate taking this action, knowing the undeserved awe these women held me in. If I’d reacted negatively, it would have surely crushed them. I knew that I was walking on eggshells here, or rather rolling around on them with two naked women, and it occurred to me that it would be better if I was fully awake as I tread this potential minefield.
“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself,” Shani hurried to apologize.
“Could someone—,” I began, when the bedside light turned on without me even finishing my question. However, it was clearly too bright and I winced, though Anh and Shani didn’t even seem to notice.
“I’d wanted to see the beauties kissing me,” I complained, “but I’d rather be able to actually see them.”
“That’s odd,” Anh answered cheekily, “we hardly notice any difference. You shine much brighter than that weak little lamp. It’s like sleeping beside a spotlight. That’s why we couldn’t resist playing, because you were keeping us awake, and we couldn’t help but respond to the energy radiating through us.”
I heard some motion to the side, and a moment later someone turned off the bedside light, revealing the less obnoxious light from the bathroom. I saw Allison skipping back to bed, while Cate rested her head on her palm while watching us from her bedside, her other hand still near the bedside lamp.
“Are you serious about this?” I asked, mindful of how delicate this could be; both in terms of my awkwardness and the ease I could impact their self-image by reacting inappropriately.
“I’m certainly sure,” Shani assured me.
“If it’s too much for you, I can certainly shift beds,” Anh offered nervously. “As I said, the energy we feel coming off of you was too much for us to ignore, but we certainly don’t want to—”
I shut her up by pressing my finger to her lip. “Shh, let’s not have any more of that. All of you are dear to me, and you’re each beautiful as well, even more so because of each of your strengths,” I replied, laying it on thick in the hopes of avoiding any hurt feelings. “However, you need to be aware that I’m liable to go off like a roman candle. I’m not terribly experienced, and once I go off, I’m so tired I’m not likely to recover.”
“Don’t worry,” Shani assured me, leaning in and kissing me. “We simply want to please you. You do what you feel you need to. We’re excited enough just being this near you.”
Still feeling nervous, I turned to Allison, now slipping into bed behind Cate wearing no more than a pair of panties.
“Are you going to be OK being left out?”
Allison blushed at my question, her chest almost matching her rich hair color as the color rose across her skin.
“Don’t worry, I’ll have my turn later,” she mumbled, looking down in embarrassment. Her nervousness made me wonder what the cause was since I was so busy trying to gage how sensitive everyone was. I wasn’t sure if she was nervous about sleeping with me—which seemed unlikely—or from having to sleep with several other naked women. It struck me an odd attitude for a professional escort, but I decided it would be better to explore later when we had some privacy to discuss it. At least it removed one hand grenade from my lap for the moment.
Anh touched my naked chest with her finger, playing with the few chest hairs there.
“Don’t worry,” she assured me, focusing on my chest rather than me, even though she had to look askew at me the whole time. “I just want to cuddle with you. I know the age thing is a bit much for you, and to tell the truth, the hormones in this old body haven’t been working that well the last few years. But if you don’t mind, I wouldn’t mind remaining here while you and Shani have a little fun.”
I leaned forward and kissed Shani, then pulled back. “Excuse me for a moment,” I told her, and then turned towards Anh.
I kissed her again, opening her mouth and inviting her tongue in to play just as we had before, demonstrating that, while I may still have some issues with it, I wouldn’t let that stand in my way. I relaxed into the kiss, knowing that her nervousness effectively countered my awkwardness, and that she was so relieved to be included that she wouldn’t care about what I knew and what I didn’t. Yet, as inexperienced as I was due to my past shyness, Shani’s hand managed to fill me with confidence, and well as provide me with enough enthusiasm to ignore my qualms.
Anh’s lips were tasting better and better. She moaned as I pulled her against me, but then she broke the kiss, turned my head to face Shani, then pressed the two of us together. Shani and I joined together in our own kiss easily and hungrily.
Shani was older than me, but several years are a lot easier to ignore than several decades, believe me. Shani brought my hand to her breast, encouraging me to explore what I’d never dared to before. She gave up playing with me, and pressed her full body against mine, rubbing herself against me. I moaned in bliss, it felt more wonderful than I’d ever imagined—even in my wildest fantasies.
Anh snuggled against my side, though whether to rub against me or to soak up my energy I couldn’t tell and didn’t care. Luckily I couldn’t see Cate’s smirking face as I was currently facing away from her, and I had no idea what Allison was doing. I felt a hand slide between Shani and I, searching for and finding my erect cock. It felt odd having someone my grandmother’s age playing with my cock while I kissed someone else. It was hard grappling with the oddity of it, but I struggled to carry on, enjoying the sensations.
But what was even odder was the reversal of roles. As much as I’d expected my inexperience to work against me, the girls nervousness played in my favor, as it filled me with confidence while distracting me enough to give me some needed distance, which allowed me to maintain some control. My breathing was getting rapid, and my cock was pulsing, but both women were responding in kind, moaning and breathing heavily as if they’d been running hard.
I’d kiss one until she seemed about to explode in my hands, then I’d switch to the other, which allowed the first to calm down while restoring my own control again. If they got too excited, literally shaking in my hands, I’d ease up and they’d work to calm down, and then we’d resume. It was already odd enough, and I didn’t want to make it worse by thinking I was taking advantage of their attitude towards me, but it was clear they were here of their own accord. Still, I allowed them to establish the pace, only slowing them to allow everyone to calm down when needed, so we kept it up for some time. But the entire time, there was this nagging suspicion that they weren’t as into me personally as they were into the idea of making love to this mythical angelic spirit that had entered their lives. That helped add some distance as well.
The girls shifted, with Shani rolling off me to the side, while Anh shifted down as Shani resumed kissing me. I didn’t have time to consider what they were doing until I felt a pair of lips engulf me. When I drew in a surprised and delighted breath, Shani was right there to keep my face occupied, just as her breast were keeping my hands busy.
For someone who’d never gotten farther than first base before, I was gaining a lot of sexual experience all at once, not just experiencing things for the first time, but getting a lot of experience in making out as well.
I groaned deeply in appreciation and Anh responded by increasing her speed. I wasn’t qualified to judge technique, but the skill she was demonstrating seemed to be amazing. I couldn’t help myself and began thrusting into her face, but she responded by holding me steady with one hand while using the other to keep me going. My hands abandoned Shani to grasp the sides of Anh’s head, and Shani responded by pulling back, watching Anh working on me.
I told myself that I’d never again have any qualms making out with grandmothers if they all felt this delightful. I felt my breath getting shorter and felt myself lifting my ass off of the bed, even as Shani began playing with both herself and my chest at the same time. I was nearing my release after a long delay when I glanced over and saw both Allison and my sister Cate leaning back on their bed with the covers thrown back and their hands buried in their panties, frantically scratching their own itches. The sight was enough to cause me to explode, as I pumped my seed into Anh’s vacuuming mouth, my sister’s cute embarrassed blush forever emblazoned into my memory. I continued thrusting hard, over and over until I was drained; feeling like I’d pumped my very essence out through my dick.
I wasn’t the only one to find my release at that moment, Shani cried out, shaking and trembling. I heard the pantings from the bed to my left and turned to watch as first Allison and then Cate moaned their release, their hands freezing over their pussies as their entire bodies seemed to lock up and they lay there, shaking in a frozen rigor of orgasm, the flush and sweat covering their chests glistening in the dim light. Anh, releasing my spent cock still drooling cum, yelled and collapsed face first in the bed by my thigh, also quivering in delight.
I was amazed that my mother’s assurance that the dread of making love to an older woman proved fruitless, even as my mind was spinning over what we’d all experienced. The idea that my younger sister had not only been observing the whole thing, but that she’d actually been masturbating to it in the next bed with a professional in the field was too much for my mind to deal with. It was the little bit of forbidden kink to twist the whole unbelievable event into something that riveted my mind. As surreal as everything else had been, that cemented it in reality for me. I knew I’d remember this moment for the rest of my life, even if nothing else happened between each of us.
However, I was suddenly too exhausted to worry what my sister’s interest in my carnal activities implied. Wearily reaching down, I pulled on Anh’s shoulder and pulled Shani into me, and both come willingly and eagerly, cuddling against me, our mutual exhaustion overwhelming us.
“I must say, I certainly wasn’t expecting that,” Shani moaned.
“Neither was I,” Anh replied, “but I guess my hormones are working better than I thought. I’m definitely feeling some juices running.”
“Can’t be mine,” I gasped, “I’ve got none left.”
“Damn, that was hot,” I heard in an exhausted groan from the side, followed by another heavy sigh in acknowledgement.
“Bet you didn’t think you’d enjoy two old ladies as much as you did, huh?” teased the beautiful thing on my shoulder.
“God, no!” answered Cate before I had a chance to respond.
I kissed both women deeply and held them tight against me, and called out a goodnight to them all before I found myself drifting off to a much needed, deep, sleep.
"An Unknown Attraction", and the sequel, "Trying To Be Normal", are available at:
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