Book 1 of “The Catalyst” Series
Chapter 09: More Theorizing, Some Planning and a Few Other Things
We got up and moving relatively early the next morning, considering the activities of the night before. The four women seemed to be a bit embarrassed around each other, but I couldn’t keep the grin off my face to save my life. Shani, Anh, Allison and Cate eventually relaxed around each other a bit more as they grew accustomed to seeing each other walk back and forth in the nude. I got up and made my way to the bathroom, wanting to clean up the crusty dried stuff on my leg. My sister was sitting on the can and Anh was washing her face in the sink while Shani was adjusting the water in the shower. I wasn’t even sure where Allison was, but assumed she must be selecting clothes or something. Knocking on the glass door of the shower, I called out “Mind a little company?” to which Shani quickly agreed with a hungry look in her eyes.
“Just try to take it easy, guys,” my sister replied from her seat in an exasperated tone, “my little beaver’s all worn out from last night. I don’t think I could take any more activity this morning.”
‘You never know,’ teased Anh, smiling at her with a twinkle in her eye, looking younger than she had previously, ‘we could always help you relax.’ The juxtaposition between the tiny older woman and her sexy teasing with the bright smile on her face was surprising. I guess it was like the effect of watching Betty White cursing in television commercials. After I translated for Cate, she looked shocked then burst out laughing loud and long. The laughter brought Allison wading in, also naked, to see what she was missing. I don’t think I’d ever seen that much wobbling tit flesh in my entire life. No, come to think of it, I was sure I hadn’t, as I hadn’t had much of any experience with them in the past.
“I didn’t consider we might have picked up a dirty old woman when she came on the scene,” Cate laughed. We all joined in her mirth, each enjoying the more relaxed mood we shared, although Shani and I were a bit distracted with washing each other’s good parts. Shani made sure I got the parts that needed cleaning, but I got enough access to the interesting bits that I couldn’t complain. With three women waiting for us we couldn’t take too long in the shower.
As Shani and I eased out of the shower, Allison put her hand against my chest and shook her head no, pushing me back the way I’d just come.
“No way, buddy,” she protested. “After I missed out last night, I’m getting whatever I can this morning.” I’m not sure what the others were doing, as I had my attention focused on the soft, round breasts before me. Allison was cooing just like a dove, so apparently I was doing just the right thing. I was rubbing her breasts and nipples with my soapy hands, moving them in opposition to each other when someone banged on the door.
“Hey, hurry it up in there, there’s only so much hot water,” Cate reminded us, even though I doubted the hotel’s water heater was that small.
Blushing, I turned the water off and took some time soaping down every inch of the lovely pale redhead (her bush, if anyone is interested, was as red as her hair, although she kept it trimmed into a small landing strip). As I was preparing to turn on the water again for a rinse, the shower door slipped open and Cate slid in beside us, rubbing nice parts against us as she went.
“Sorry,” she said as she slithered around me. “I just couldn’t wait any longer. Just go ahead and pretend that I’m not here,” she added, still holding my hip with her left hand. I had to shake my head to clear my vision. There were just too damn many breasts to look at this morning. Old grandma breasts, light mocha colored breasts, soapy breasts awaiting a spritzing, and yes, even naked little sister breasts just begging to be stared at. Shaking my head once again, I started the shower and proceeded to rinse Allison off as quickly as I could.
“You missed a spot,” Cate informed me, peering over my shoulder as I rinsed off Allison’s thighs.
“What?” I stupidly responded.
“Right there,” she replied, pointing to a soapy patch residing on Allison’s outer thigh. I glanced at my sister, unable to believe how strange things were getting, then rinsed off the offending spot while Cate kept glaring at me like she couldn’t believe how inefficient I was at showering naked ladies if I couldn’t respond faster than that.
“Is that OK?” I asked her archly, to which both she and Allison stated “Perfect,” at the same time, although Allison’s response was a bit throatier than Cate’s. I felt myself blushing again, something I’d largely been managing to control so far this morning.
Having finished with the soaping and showering portion, I offered a shampoo, thinking it only fair, but she declined, stating the obvious that there was still too much of a line and too little time.
“You know, one of you could always borrow my parents’ shower,” I suggested, thinking I was being helpful. Both girls stared unbelievingly at me and I heard boos from outside the shower.
“What’s the fun in that?” Shani asked. Again, about all I could do was shake my head, unable to believe I’d gone from being a naïve kid who’d only kissed a couple of girls to showering with a whole bathroom full of naked women (and one girl).
As Allison and I exited the shower, holding hands while we did, Anh shifted over to occupy the toilet abandoned by Shani, while Allison and I toweled each other off. I noticed Cate left the shower door open so she could ogle us while we patted each other dry. As I turned to look at my messy hair and bruised face in the mirror, Anh grabbed my flaccid penis and pulled me over to her, gently sucking on it as I stood looking down at her.
“Tôi rất thích việc chơi đùa cùng thằng nhỏ của cậu…,” she observed, although the meaning was clearer from her actions than from the poorly worded Vietnamese mumbled around my quickly growing erection.
“Translation?” Cate requested
“She said she likes to suck dicks,” Shaniqua answered for us, winking as she did. Somehow I was able to observe that Shani was already wearing panties and was trying to get a mark off a sheer blouse. Again, the little hotel bathroom was quite crowded with five of us sharing it, each doing different things at the same time.
“Don’t get me started,” groaned Cate over the sound of the falling water, protectively cradling her poor abused vagina while Shani hugged me from the side and giggled at us.
“Don’t forget, your Mom is expecting us,” Shani warned, glancing at me seriously so I wouldn't think she was still teasing. I felt my erection pause a moment at the thought, but that’s about all it did under Anh’s skillful manipulations. Anh pulled her head back, though, causing me to fall from her lips with a wet little popping sound.
‘She’s right, we’ve all got to be presentable,’ she agreed. She then looked lewdly at Shani and said, ‘Do you want to decide who gets to sit within “hands under the table” distance at breakfast?’ They both laughed while Cate begged for a translation. We all got ready quickly after that, though not without quite a few ribald innuendoes thrown in. We presented a very happy group of faces when we met my parents in the hallway.
“Uh oh,” moaned my mother in mock disappointment, holding her hand over her face as if horrified, “Looks like the ‘old enough to be your grandmother’ ploy didn’t work.” My father looked decidedly uncomfortable, however, while the women began clucking at Linda’s little joke. My father decided discretion was the better part of valor during the walk downstairs, as we both tried to withstand their teasing chatter.
Both of us had a hard time keeping the various women from gossiping about the previous night’s activities. We met Natalie in the dining room, where she very professionally led us to the table Patricia was already waiting for us at.
“Where’s Henry?” I asked, glancing around for him.
“Oh, he thought it might be a little awkward fending off all your seconds at the breakfast table,” she laughed, not giving me a clue what was really going on. However, I was pleased that she seemed to be taking the whole thing lightheartedly. I just hoped that Henry could take it in the same manner.
We required a larger table to seat everyone and I seemed to occupy the central seat. Allison and Patricia sat on either side of me, with Shani and Anh sitting on either side of them. Cate sat beside my parents on the far side. Natalie was having a tough time maintaining a professional decorum as she kept trying to keep up with all the quiet gossip running around the table about last night’s and this morning’s events, though everyone was surprisingly polite. Allison and Patricia’s hands were busy playing with me under the table, though they certainly weren’t fooling anyone as virtually everyone’s eyes kept glancing down at my waist throughout the meal. As delicious as the breakfasts here always were, it was hard to focus on the food with two soft playful hands distracting me while the rest of the table were either flirting or teasing me.
Discussing the day’s activities, we decided that with no other specific plans, we’d take Anh back to her seaside community to close out her bank account and retrieve some of her papers. This represented my first trip outside the city, at least since I’d discovered these new abilities of mine, and like I frequently was, I was nervous about running across other new people. However, since we were traveling to the more isolated seaside communities, it seemed unlikely we’d encounter anyone. On a positive note, Shani promised to treat us all to some po’ boys during our outing. Apparently they’re a little lunchtime sandwich, particular to this area of Louisiana, that everyone is supposed to sample before they leave.
Soon we were underway. We’d had to switch my parents’ small 4-door car for Patricia’s touring van, since there were now so many of us. Even so it was still a tight squeeze, as it was only a typical van and not the larger variety. Henry had been nice enough to install the spare seats into it for us, as normally it was used to hold equipment rather than an excess of female traveling companions. We were packed so full that Patricia insisted my father drive, so he wouldn’t be ‘crowded in the back’. She duly offered to suffer in silence along with the other women squeezed in around me. This time Shani and Patricia sat beside me while Allison and Anh sat in the other seat. With Mom in the front there was still room to spare, but everyone announced it was too full and that Cate should sit on my lap. I knew they were just teasing, but Cate took it seriously enough to squeeze in. I protested as much as I could, but I think everyone was getting tired of my protests. Actually I think everyone was pleased with the results. True, all the girls would have liked to sit beside me, but they seemed happy to share. I think my parents considered it a fair option, figuring it would be impossible to do anything below my waist if there was someone sitting on it. However, it certainly didn’t prevent hand holding, tits pressing against arms and sides, or the frequent kisses we exchanged. All of which led to my sister being entertained by my alter-ego pressing up under her cheeks. She got even with me though, grinning triumphantly as she snuggled down against it.
In order to make a day out of it we took a little side trip in the morning to visit a nearby gator farm where they displayed live alligators. Sure, it was a bit hokey but it was fun to watch the little man made mud filled ‘swamp’ packed with alligators. The girls had clearly seen this before and they had fun watching our reactions. That little adventure didn’t take long and we were soon traveling back to the coast towards Anh’s old neighborhood. ‘Old’ as in yesterday. I briefly considered the chances of running into more of Anh’s family or other friends, but reconsidered when I remembered we’d parted on a somewhat friendly basis. No, I had enough to worry about with new women showing up potentially asking if I was an angel or a spirit. That was about all the complications I could stand.
We stopped for the promised po’ boys, which were delicious by the way. They’re basically a sub with a variety of items you can select in a crispy French roll. We split some shrimp, crab and crawfish between us. I doubted I’d ever see one once I left the area, but they were fun while we were there. It was hardly comparable to the food we ate while in the city, but it was an enjoyable snack.
When we arrived at Anh’s neighborhood she went to her bank, where she made arrangements to transfer her savings and made other financial arrangements, as well as withdrawing a healthy chunk of bills. I worried about her carrying that amount of money but held my tongue. We then stopped at a little neighborhood grocery store so Anh could stock up on supplies essential for feeding us all her various ethnic delicacies when we got home. We all followed her through the store, examining all the exotic items she picked through. The local Vietnamese staff was polite, but I’m sure they wondered what we were doing there.
After those two stops, Anh—who’d driven her car on the way down—stopped off at Bao’s house to drop it off, assuming she wouldn’t need it in the future. She planned on staying with us, and without any nearby family or friends, figured she could pal around with the other women whenever she needed. So she climbed into our van and we drove off, waving goodbye to her family once more.
Since it was still early we took a brief drive by the waterfront to look out over the vast Gulf. Being from the landlocked Midwest, it was certainly amazing to see water stretching for so far. The water was very still with hardly a breeze to disturb it, although a fair amount of gulls and various shore birds dotted the sky along the waterfront. Cate wanted to play in the water, but Mom warned her not to get too wet as they didn’t want to soil Patricia’s van. Hardly paying her any heed Cate ran yelling for the water. I found myself caught up in the moment as well, finally able to put all my worries about strange women confronting me aside, able to play like kids once more. I realized my days of being a kid were coming to an end, what with several women planning on moving either in with or near me in the near future. But for now we were just a couple of kids witnessing the expansive Gulf for the first time.
Neither of us actually entered the water, but we both kicked off our shoes and ran through the small waves along the shore. We were running back and forth, splashing each other while our parents collected seashells, when Anh started shouting.
“Cá heo!” she yelled excitedly, forgetting that no one could understand her. She quickly tried to adjust, even though her English wasn’t all that good. “Er…, Poor-puss!” she corrected herself, waving out into the deeper water.
Cate and I both turned and tried to see what she was pointing at, but all we saw was a vast expanse of blue water. It was Patricia that saw them first.
“I see them, I see them!” she called, waving wildly and behaving as excitedly as Cate and I were, which made sense, since she wasn’t a native and probably spent little time visiting the gulf itself. She and Anh pointed them out. This time when Cate and I turned again, we saw their blue-gray dorsal fins rhythmically rising out of the water and slowly disappearing again, repeatedly, showing there were several of them, and they weren’t that far out either. Then one jumped, almost leaving the water entirely. We all watched, entranced, as they continued to play and frolic as if putting on a private show for us.
We watched in fascination before Patricia cheered. Soon we were all shouting. Cate, excited to witness new things while still able to act like a child rather than a reserved scientist, gave me a big hug before quickly backing up, blushing over the unplanned and unexpected action.
“Sorry,” she mumbled. But before I could respond, Patricia and Anh came running up.
“I get confused,” Anh admitted, revealing she knew more English than she let on, before switching to our private communication. ‘We only have one word for both of them, as we only have one back in Vietnam.’
“That’s fine,” I assured her. “We have zero in the corn fields in Illinois. About all we get are catfish and perch in the lakes we spend our summer afternoons at.”
Cate glanced at me oddly, wondering what I was talking about, but between Anh and me, we managed to explain the confusion.
Later on I noticed Cate and a few of the girls doing something in the sand, but they yelled when I got too close trying to investigate. When they finally let me in to see the finished product, I groaned. There, in the wet sand, they’d written a giant message of ‘Spirit Lord was here’. They were clearly enjoying themselves so I tried not to fret about it. The incoming tide would erase it anyway, long before anyone could see it.
“OK, kids, both ours and all of Alex’s,” Dad called out from his and Mom’s vantage point by our collected stuff up near the shallow dunes. “We need to be heading back if we plan on getting back to the city in time to eat. After all, Natalie’s going to be anxiously awaiting us. I think she felt left out of all the excitement last night and this morning,” he reminded us.
I groaned again, thinking how I’d make it up to her for her having missed a group make-out and shower session. Still, I felt relaxed as this was what we had come down for, before we were distracted by our recent strange events. We’d had a short chance to just let our guard down and have some fun. I felt better equipped to head back into the city and deal with whatever had to be dealt with.
“So have you all considered what we spoke about?” Dad asked after we’d all climbed into Patricia’s van and he got us back on the road. He knew everyone had been waiting for this discussion since he’d raised the issue, and now that he had a captive audience and everyone was relaxed enough not to get defensive, he figured it was a good time to address it.
“Duh!” Cate mocked him. “Just what do you think everyone’s been doing all yesterday and today?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” our mother replied. “Seems to me the lot of you have been chasing about the country, getting into fights and rescuing fair damsels, then rewarding the handsome prince.” It was a simple tease, hardly up to Cate’s standards but it was unexpected nonetheless. I found myself blushing.
“Anyway, what’s the consensus?” Dad asked, glancing at us via the rearview mirror.
“Chúng tôi đồng ý, chúng tôi sẽ ở bên cạnh Alex dù ở bất kỳ nơi nào đi chăng nữa,” Anh replied summarily, temporarily forgetting that my family couldn’t understand her.
“Pardon me?” Dad had to ask.
“Oops, sorry, Dad. She said that they each agree. They’ll go wherever I go.”
“And you’re OK with that?” he asked, skeptical since he know how I’d been thinking before I went to rescue Anh.
“Well, there’s not a whole lot I can really say about it,” I countered, sounding a little pouty. “I didn’t really protest about Shani, and then I go and yank Anh out of her family and tell her we’ll take care of her. It seems I’ve committed myself.”
“Yes, you have, honey,” Mom replied patiently. “Now we just have to decide what that means.” She turned in her seat and addressed the girls sitting in the back with me. “I take it you’re all agreed that you are fully involved with my son. You’re taking up what Shani started. Now what about the details? Have you all thought about jobs, living arrangements and how we’re going to handle expenses?”
“I think you worked out Anh’s arrangements yesterday,” Shani said. “As for me, I’ve already told you that my job is pretty universal. I should be able to find a local company that needs my services. I’m not afraid of a commute, so I can look as far as Carbondale, Evansville or even Peoria. As for expenses I can help cover those, plus I’m glad to help with anything that Alex may need.”
“Well, you seem like you’ve already done your homework about where we live,” Mom commented. “What about the rest of you?”
“Well, I’ve got another couple of weeks here before I can leave,” Patricia told her. “But after that I’m clear. I don’t need much, but I’ll have to see if anyone has a studio nearby since I’d like to be able to make some demo tapes, but I can always go wherever I need for that, since it shouldn’t take long. As it is I pretty much live out of a box anyway, so I don’t see any problems.”
“I’ve talked it over with Cate,” Allison replied next. “She thinks I can get started studying anywhere, and I can apply for a late admission to Southern Illinois University which is nearby. Other than that I’m free. As you can guess, I’m not close with any family or friends here, aside from my previous clients,” she said, blushing a little. “I’ve got plenty of cash handy for whatever comes up.”
“Just don’t go spending it all,” my father lectured her. “You’ll need it for your new degree.”
“She knows what she’ll need,” Mom lectured my father back. “Now, what about living arrangements, where do you all plan to live?”
Suddenly the car was filled with silence before Shani ventured a response. “Actually I think we’re all planning on living with Alex. If you don’t have the room we can get a shared apartment nearby and rotate whoever stays over, but we plan on sleeping with him on a regular basis. I’m sorry if I’m being rude here, but you told us you wanted our honest responses.”
Mom reacted like she wasn’t surprised by any of this. “OK, that’s about what I expected. We don’t have a large house, but we had several kids. You may have to make room when Becky and her sister Melinda come home, but other than that, you should be OK. We’ll expect you to all chip in and help out around the house and with expenses, but as long as you’re willing to keep a low profile and not get the kids or us in any trouble, I think we can all work something out.”
I was floored by the casual manner in which my mother matter-of-factly acknowledged that I could sleep with four women when we got home. I was literally gobsmacked, whatever the hell a gob was. (I guess I shouldn’t say literally when I’m not sure the origins of the word I’m using.) Still, this was a major concession on my parent’s part, and I realized they were putting a lot of trust in me and in my ability to handle this new responsibility. I’d have to be careful to show them that I deserved it, I thought, swallowing nervously.
“That’s assuming Alex doesn’t pick up any more women,” my mother added, smiling back at me. “If he does, we may need to rent an apartment complex for them all.”
“Yeah, and run shuttles back and forth,” suggested Cate with a snide little grin.
“Speaking of transportation,” my father interrupted. “What about cars? Do you each have one? Are you going to bring them? You’re all making plans that involve nearby communities, you’ll need some way to get there and we don’t have a lot of room in our driveway.”
“That’s why Anh decided to leave hers behind,” I reminded him. “She’s not planning on driving around much anyway.”
“We could clear out the garage,” Cate offered, seemingly happy to volunteer. I’m not sure whether she saw the women as part of some large experiment or whether she’d actually managed to make friends with them all, but she didn’t seem to have any problems with any of them either.
“Yeah, that’d help,” Dad countered sarcastically. “If you all worked for the next two weeks you could fit another two cars. If Alex agreed to give up his own car we might be able to fit everyone in without having to park on the street.”
“My car?” I responded dully. “But I need my car to get Cate and me to school every day?”
“I think you’ll have plenty of cars available,” Dad laughed at my shocked reaction. “Plus, I’m thinking if you have a car of your own you’ll only bring home even more strange women.”
“Chúng tôi chỉ cảm thấy lạ thường cho đến khi ngài quen dần với điều đó thôi,” Anh quickly responded.
“Man, I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to her following the conversation and joining in by speaking Vietnamese. So what’d she say?”
“She said, ‘We’re only strange until you get to know us’,” Shani translated for them.
“Wait,” Cate asked, “do you all get a simultaneous translation whenever Anh says or thinks something?”
“Well, it’s not like we hear everything she thinks,” Shani explained. “But when she speaks to us, either verbally or mentally, we hear it. Although…,” she said, hesitating to consider it. “That’s not really true, it’s like we hear everything through Alex. We each seem to be able to communicate with him, and by doing that we can also hear each other. It’s kind of complicated once you start to get into the gist of it. It works much better in actual practice.”
“No kidding,” Cate commented. “Alex, how to you keep track of all that traffic in your little head?”
“I don’t think he’s using his little head,” Allison responded. “I think he uses his little head for other thoughts,” she teased.
“Yeah, I got that, I think that’s how you all got here,” Cate answered. “And it was obvious he wasn’t doing much thinking with his little head last night either.” That provoked a laugh, but also took the pressure off us to answer Cate’s probing science questions and allowed us to focus on my parent’s questions again.
“I don’t think Anh will need a separate car,” Shani answered, seemingly taking the role of senior speaker for the group. “It looks like Allison and I will need one to commute, but I suspect Patricia will only need one occasionally, so we should be able to park hers at the apartment we’ll all rent together for mail and appearances’ sake.”
“So that answers our next questions,” Mom replied. “What about phones? That many people could put a hurting on a shared line.”
“Duh, Mom,” Cate answered for everyone, “most people don’t even have a landline anymore. I’m sure they all have their own cell phones.”
“Not only that,” Patricia added, “but we’re simplifying our base of contacts. And communications between us are more easily and immediately filled via telepathy.”
“All right, it sounds like we’ve got a lot covered in a short time,” my father summarized.
“I think we should limit the activities in Alex’s room, or he’ll never get out of bed,” Mom laughingly added. “How about only two people share his bed each night?”
“Fine, we’ll agree to that,” Allison added, but whispered loudly enough for us all to hear, “for now.” However everyone just laughed at that, and I was again amazed at everyone’s casual acceptance of everything.
Dad then confided to me that he was proud of me for handling this so well, for finally taking responsibility for everyone around me, and handling everything that came up, telling me I was likely to attract additional followers and would have to get used to taking care of them. That got me thinking about what I was facing in my future, so I fell silent for a bit while the girls continued to talk out various details.
“What’s the matter, Alex?” my sister asked. “Are you worried that you don’t have any super powers like all those characters in stories?” I knew she was teasing, but in a way, it had been bothering me. I mean, what’s the point of having new abilities if you can’t use them for something neat?
Taking my continued silence for serious contemplation, she continued. “These new abilities are significant, even if they don’t make a big difference in your day-to-day existence. Granted, I’m probably the biggest beneficiary simply because I have more things to experiment with, but just think about what we have here. You have an ability no one else has. While we have no idea how it works or what’s involved, having everyone in one spot allows us the optimal situation to analyze it.”
Here she stopped to think about the issues we’d face if everything came together. “Your point about not having wires in your head shows your telepathy is not as simple as receiving radio waves, there’s got to be a whole new mechanism in place in each of your brains to allow this to operate. Then there’s this issue of this energy/life force your girls can see. It’s almost like the Star Wars ‘force’; it’s an actual energy that’s attached to all living things. While you will never be able to win light saber duels, there’s no end to what it might eventually mean. Even if your abilities are limited now, that’s not to mean they won’t advance once we know more about it. Didn’t you get more abilities when you got in that fight at Anh’s?” she asked.
“Some fight,” I sighed, tired of being reminded how brave I was to be sucker punched. “But you’re right, until that moment all I got were fuzzy messages and vague feelings. Then all of a sudden I was receiving clear messages just like everyone was talking inside my head.”
“You never described exactly what’s involved,” Cate reminded us, trying to get back on the topic Patricia had gracefully avoided earlier. “What’s the actual process?”
“It’s very simple,” I explained simply so she could understand it, “now we can converse mentally as well as trade pictures and emotions. It’s not like you’d expect. It’s not actually mind reading, per se. I can’t actually read their minds. I simply hear what they want to tell me.”
“Actually there’s a bit more to it than that,” Shani added. “The other girls and I can’t actually communicate with each other. We can, but we can only do it by going through Alex. I can actually hear what Anh is saying inside of Alex’s head. I don’t think I could hear anything if Alex was asleep.”
“She’s got a point,” I agreed. “I can hear them speaking together in my head. It’s weird, and I feel a little like I’m spying on them, so I try to ignore it when they want to speak together, but I just have this two way conversation going on in the back of my head while I try to focus on something else.”
“Man, this is just too weird,” Cate stated, although she actually sounded more enthusiastic than freaked out.
“Too weird is right,” I agreed, not as pleased by it.
“You know,” Patricia added, “speaking of super powers and you not knowing the extent of them; maybe we should have tried something the other day with that guy you helped.”
“What, you mean the guy with the brain tumor?” I asked. “What could we have possibly done, I’m no brain surgeon.”
“No, but we know you’ve got this boundless energy that just radiates out of you. It’s so bright it blinds us. Maybe you could do something with it?”
“So what would you suggest? I just will his head to shrink and magically only the unhealthy cells go away and all the others stay the same?”
“Well, there’s no telling how you’d do it. I was just suggesting that maybe we should have tried,” she responded hesitantly.
“I don’t mean to belittle your ideas,” I told her, “but even if it were possible, I think it’d be way too complicated to try to do anything involving brain surgery.” She didn’t look mollified, but she grudgingly conceded I probably had a point. “Don’t worry,” I tried to soothe her feelings, “I’m sure we’ll work out any hidden abilities I may have, but honestly, I just don’t think there are any. What I’ve done is amazing enough and I’ve reaped enough rewards in all of you to last me a lifetime. I’m just not looking for any more excitement in my life.”
“Still, you’ve got to concede, even if you don’t have any super powers you’ve got a lot to gain from it,” Cate went on, temporarily sidelining the new information in favor of continuing the conversation. “First, you get new women that want to give you anything you desire,” she hurriedly continued before I could interrupt to complain about it. “Secondly, think about it, who would you have met if this hadn’t occurred? Maybe a couple of stoners or something? Instead you meet a professional Jamaican-American business woman, an older Vietnamese woman, a high class hooker and a professional blues singer. Where else would you have met all of those people on your own? Just look at it as an opportunity to meet people you’d never meet otherwise. If you manage to gain some additional information or find a way to boost those abilities, then that’s a bonus, but your life is already MUCH more interesting than it was a week ago.”
She certainly had me there. I’d never be able to just coast through life again, I’d always be watching for someone to appear wanting me to tell them what to do with their life. Plus there were all my new responsibilities. I held the very lives of several people in my hands. They all depended on me to tell them how they should handle these new abilities. Then there was the new feeling of confidence I felt, knowing these women thought the world of me as well as knowing my parents trusted me to do whatever I thought was best, and everyone wanted to help me in any way they could. I certainly couldn’t complain about any of it.
We again lapsed into silence for a moment as we each contemplated the effects these events would have in our lives, but the conversation soon turned to Natalie and what she might need before settling onto the topic of the women I’d found so far. Cate talked about how the various ages showed that there didn’t seem to be any significant limits on who I was finding. There might be a lower age limit, but we’d just have to watch and see who else turned up before we could rule anyone out. Everyone laughed when my mother informed me that all my dreams of accumulating a harem of attractive young women was all for naught. Still, it was worth considering as an idea, as there didn’t seem to be any kind of limit on who I was attracting other than it had only been women so far.
“You know,” Cate said, filling the gap in the conversation, “I think we should talk about what Alex’s mission is, since you asked everyone to think about how they saw themselves helping him with it. While I don’t know what his ‘spirit’ is planning, I think he needs to find as many others as he can, both the ones with the visions and the others like Natalie.” She stopped to give everyone time to consider what she said, and there was a general murmured agreement with her.
“Good point, Cate,” Dad told her. “I’m glad you brought it up as it was something I’d asked them to tell me about. So what do you propose? Do you think he should fill your mother’s apartment complex? Maybe start a superior race? Possibly start having bunches of ‘telepathic grandbabies’, as your mother so wittingly calls them?”
“Actually Dad, that’s exactly what I was thinking,” Cate stated, starting to wind up. I groaned at my father encouraging her to head off on this lark, but that cat was already out of the bag. “I think Alex has tapped into an already established community of people who all assume they’re alone. I think they’ve been accessing their ability to perceive this energy in people and putting it to their own use, without recognizing what it is or that anyone else shared it. I think he needs to start gathering all those people together for… well, essentially so they can form their own community and try to bring their own inherent abilities to the fore. Anything he adds, like the visions, is just gravy after that.”
“So, in essence you’re pushing for Alex to begin a selective breeding program?” our father asked, pushing the idea beyond what Cate had actually suggested.
I cringed at the suggestion. I’d already had similar thoughts myself so the idea wasn’t that foreign, in fact I’d venture to guess that everyone in that car had probably thought of it on their own. I just wasn’t ready to face the prospects of having to participate in anything like that yet. I certainly wouldn’t argue about the sex part, but the producing babies was enough to inhibit any baby generating activities on my part.
“In a word, yes,” Cate answered, perfectly seriously. “So far we have no idea whether what he does affects anything genetic or not. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t. We won’t know until it either shows up in a new generation or it doesn’t. Even then, it may take until his offspring are his age before anyone knows. But it makes sense to start the process soon, because as far as we know he’s the only one with these particular abilities. Then there’s the women themselves. Even without Alex’s participation, I think getting them together in an extended community would be beneficial, both socially but also in terms of future family planning. If you could have your children able to sense people’s moods and emotions, wouldn’t you want them to?”
“You bring up some good points, as always,” Dad told her. “But I think this is all a bit heavy for a quick decision one way or another. How about we just think about this new idea for a bit, before anyone ventures an opinion? OK? Besides, I think Alex is about to shit his pants as we speak.” He proceeded to laugh as everyone’s attention suddenly focused on me again, only reinforcing my own embarrassment over the topic.
By now we were close to our hotel again, so aside from a few encouraging remarks to keep my spirits up the conversation effectively ended. When we got back we found Natalie anxiously awaiting us in the lobby, reading a book. She wasted no time saving her place, but was eager to hear all about our day. We sat down and started to relate what we’d discussed before Dad suggested we move the discussion to the dining room so we could eat and talk.
We gravitated in that direction and the girls brought Natalie up to date on the discussion details.
“Wow, you’ve got it all planned,” she said, looking a little wistful.
“So what about you?” Cate asked. “What are your plans?”
“Me? I wasn’t sure I was included?” she responded, sounding a little defensive.
“Of course you’re included,” Cate sighed. “You’re one of us. Didn’t you hear the bit about him including people like you as well?”
“Well, yeah, but you were the one who said that,” Natalie very intelligently responded.
“Nevertheless, you’re included with the rest of us. Dad included you in the discussion and you already told him you were ready to follow us home as well.”
“OK, I’ve got to admit I’ve been thinking about it all day anyway. As I said yesterday, I’m ready to go anytime and I figure it shouldn’t be hard to find a new job as my experience is pretty universal. Of course I’ve got to give two weeks’ notice, but I’ll see if I can arrange to leave sooner than that.”
“Look, it’s really not necessary to—” Everyone turned and glared at me so I knew when to shut up and back down.
“What about finances?” prompted my father.
“I’ve got a bit saved up, plus I can live pretty frugally until I get my next job. I’ve got a car, but like Patricia, I won’t need it on a daily basis until I find a job, and only then if it’s a long ways off. I’m happy to help out in any way I can and I’ll gladly help with expenses. I’m just so happy to be included. Not only because I’ll be close to Alex, but also because you’re all such an exciting bunch and this whole thing is so neat.”
“So you can fend for yourself, what about your intentions toward our son,” Mom asked, giving her an appraising look.
Natalie looked a bit lost for a moment. “Uh, well, like the rest of the girls, I’d like to be around him, but, uh, whatever we might do will depend on him, I guess.”
“So, you’re going to base your entire affair on the desires of an under aged teen-age male?” Mom pressed, recognizing doubt and uncertainty. I started to become more alert, knowing poor Natalie was getting herself into trouble.
“Uh, no, I guess not. Are we, uh…, are we going to get in trouble because of the age thing?” she mistakenly asked my mother.
“Undoubtedly,” announced my father. “Just what do you plan on doing once the police find out about it and you’re registered as a sex offender and can no longer work where there are children present?” He was clearly going in for the kill, zeroing in on her nervousness. Knowing both of my parents, I could guess that they wanted to know that each of the girls knew what they wanted, and that they were willing to do whatever was needed in whatever situation developed. Natalie had unintentionally failed the first test, now they were testing her in the second half of the same test.
“I … I don’t know,” she admitted, looking lost, her lower lip beginning to tremble. Cate and the other women all leaned forward. I don’t know whether they had any clue what was going on, but they looked on in interest and concern.
“You’d better know,” my father continued sternly. “You’re about to commit a class A felony,” he said, inventing stuff as he went along.
She looked around frightfully, looking more and more nervous until she bit her lip, squared her shoulders and turned to look them both in the eyes.
“I’ve already said I’m willing to give up my home, my family and my career for him. It’ll be no different if that should happen. However, I’ll do whatever is necessary to protect your son first and foremost. I’ll have to, or all the other girls will kill me,” she joked, gaining her another few points with my family, I was sure. “But whatever I, or we, do, I’ll be doing it for his benefit. I realize how important your son is, not just to you because you’re his parents, but also because he has a special role to fill. I want to be a part of that in whatever capacity I can. If I can help him do what he needs, I’ll do it even if I have to scrub floors in your bathrooms all day. He’s important to me, and I want to see him accomplish whatever it is he’s going to do.”
My father just stood there and glared at her, with my mother tapping her foot behind him, looking over his shoulder. Natalie just swallowed nervously and glared back at them, decidedly less aggressively than them but no less determined. Then my father broke into a big grin and enveloped her in a big hug.
“Welcome to the family, I guess,” he announced.
“Yeah, I think you’ll do OK. Once we can get you over your nervousness,” Mom told her.
“Man, I really didn’t think you were going to make it there,” Cate said. “I thought you were going to lose it when Dad started talking about your being labeled as a sex offender,” she added with a little laugh. “Honestly, though, the age of consent in Illinois is 17. You’re in the clear, although you might have a lot of explaining to do socially if you make out in public.”
Natalie looked mightily relieved. The other women clustered around her, cooing and trying to make her feel better. I was just glad she managed to pull it together in the end. I knew if she’d blown it and fallen apart, she’d always blame herself. Knowing the impact I seemed to have on each of these ladies, I was sure she’d have a hard time getting over it. True, I still was very nervous about having everyone following me, but I was glad she’d managed to hold her own.
“An Unknown Attraction”, and the sequel, “Trying To Be Normal”, are available at:
smashwords.com.
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