DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. If you are offended by 
sexually explicit material or are under the age of 18, stop reading 
now. This material cannot be reproduced for commercial purposes 
without the consent of the author.


John Carter
By
Lazlo Zalezak
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezak, 2003


Part 3: Robes of Acumen
Chapter 6

The house was quiet when John walked through the door. He had 
expected to be met by someone, but no one was around. He was 
disappointed, but not excessively so. He walked to the back of the 
house and walked to his room. There was a note taped to the door. 
He took down the note and went into his room. He dropped off his 
backpack in its normal spot. He sat down in his chair and opened 
the note. He read that he was to go down to Maria's restaurant.

Leaving the house behind, he walked down the street. A number of 
houses were dark where he thought they should have been lighted. 
As he passed Maria's house, he paused and looked at his old house. 
He went inside and walked to the back. He looked out at the desert. 
For some reason he was feeling melancholy, as though he were 
about to embark on a new lifestyle that was one that he did not 
select. 

He left the house and continued down the street. It only took him 
five minutes to reach Maria's restaurant. He entered and froze 
when he saw the people gathered there. Across the back of the 
restaurant was a table with his family. A chair was reserved for 
him. There was a line of tables down each side. Seated at those 
tables must have been twenty women or more. The arrangement of 
tables reminded him of the way the tables had been set up for their 
medieval party. 

He slowly made his way to the head table. His family smiled at 
him as he made his way to their side. He smiled back, curious as to 
what was going on. He took a minute to kiss everyone hello. He sat 
down in the chair reserved for him. He leaned over to Ed, "What's 
going on?"

Ed whispered back, "Just wait and see."

Noises started to emerge from the back of the restaurant. The 
husbands and boyfriends of the women present came out with trays 
of food that they served to everyone present. Only a few of the 
men looked in his direction. When Maria's husband set a plate in 
front of him, John stated, "Thank you very much."

"There is no need to thank me, I should thank you." Her husband 
smiled at him.

John watched him curiously as he returned to the kitchen. He 
glanced over at Ed, but Ed looked away. He took a sip of the iced 
tea and dug into his meal deciding that there was nothing better to 
do. His attempts to get more information about this evening had 
proved futile so he took a wait and see attitude. 

There was small talk as people ate their meals. Even at his table, 
his family asked him about the funeral and his stay in Austin. He 
told them about his experiences there. He didn't go into the details 
of his exchanges with the Brown family, as that was personal for 
them. He was surprised to learn that his eulogy had actually played 
on national television and that there were several sacks of mail at 
the house for him. 

He finished the enchiladas, tacos, and frijoles. His appetite sated, 
he pushed the plate away and sat back. He looked at all of the 
women gathered in the room. The fact is, he had never seen so 
many women gathered together in one room. He hadn't had that 
many women in his physics for nurses class that he taught one 
summer. Even that class was about a third men. He knew all of the 
women here. He knew that some had traveled across the country to 
be here. Karla, whom he had tried to visit in Austin, was here. 

The men emerged from the kitchen and started removing the dirty 
plates and wiping down the tables. John watched as the men 
winked at their wives or girlfriends. Some of the men winked at 
more than one woman. Things were very odd here, but he couldn't 
place his finger on the undercurrent flowing through the room. 
Soon the tables were cleared of all but glasses. Each glass was 
filled with the appropriate beverage. There were numerous bottles 
of wine set out on the tables. All of the men left through the front 
door, each pausing to say goodnight before exiting.

David walked out of the back of the room and stepped into the 
open center. He winked at Karla, who smiled back at him. David 
spoke out, "John. I am here representing the men who care for the 
women in this room. We want you to know that we understand 
what is going to happen and give our permission."

John sat there puzzled, unsure what he was supposed to do. He was 
shocked when Dave left out the front door like the rest of the men. 
John turned to look at Ed hoping to get an explanation from him. 
Ed licked his lips and looked away. John turned to look at Kelly. 
She smiled and put a finger to his lips, "Don't say a word."

Mary stood up and faced the front table. She looked around 
nervously and seemed to gain strength from the other women 
gathered there. She stated, "One day, a knight in shining armor 
rescued me from the breath of an angry dragon. This knight treated 
my wounds and then rode off into the sunset to save yet another 
fair maiden from disaster. Left behind, I dreamed of the day when I 
could reward my knight in shining armor. Time passed and I grew 
into a woman."

John was about to say that he had been amply rewarded when 
Kelly's finger touched his lips. Mary continued, "I traveled the land 
far and wide looking for my knight. Along the way, I found true 
love from a woman fair, a blind man that could see, and a prince. 
Sadness entered my heart, as I knew that I couldn't return it until I 
found my knight. I found him to learn that he had three wives and 
a husband. My loves understood and told me how I could express 
my thanks in the way that a maiden should."

As Mary sat down, Shirley stepped to the center of the room. "One 
night, a stranger tall, dark, and handsome entered my bar. He 
tamed the wild beast called Ed, making life easier for all in the 
town. He treated me, a simple barmaid, like a queen and swept me 
off my feet. I pined for his affection and dreamed of being the 
queen in his kingly bedchamber, even if only for a night."

"I watched as he regained a lost love and then lost her again. My 
hopes soared, but the king found two queens, another king, and 
lately another queen. My heart was broken, but then I found true 
love from a maiden rescued from a dragon, a blind man that can 
see, and a prince because of his generosity.  Sadness entered my 
heart. I could not return that love until I had thanked my king. How 
does a lowly barmaid thank a king? My loves told me a way."

Shirley returned to her seat as Maria took her place. She told her 
story, "One morning a hermit wearing only a loin cloth came to my 
aid. He walked through angry serpents to rescue my greatest 
treasure from being stolen by death. He increased the value of my 
treasure by polishing it and made it the envy of all that saw it. 
From the hermit's example of a simple life and gentle manner, my 
husband learned to value his wife, a lowly peasant woman. He 
even brought to me a new love in the form of a beautiful woman 
who I had long desired and now have."

"I, a lowly peasant woman who has learned to value herself, wish 
to reward the hermit. This hermit, though, has found love in the 
form of a husband and three wives. So how can I reward him? My 
husband, a man of honor and dignity, understands the debts that 
even a lowly peasant woman can feel. He suggested how I could 
repay this hermit."

Maria sat down as the other Maria stood up. She walked to the 
center of the room and turned to face John. "One day, a wise man 
came to me in my place of business. He told me how I could make 
more money by bringing my goods to the customers rather than 
requiring them to come to me. His wisdom saved my business and 
my house from the evil banker that lusted after them."

"The wise man went through town spreading his wisdom to others. 
He taught the men and women how to love each other and to treat 
each other nicely. Those men and women came to my place 
seeking a place for their romance. My business grew and with the 
money I earned, I was able to make a better life for my children. I 
dreamed of thanking him, in the only way that a woman can. 
However, the wise man has three wives and a husband so a great 
sadness fell upon me. One day, my loving sister came to me and 
told me how I could thank him."

Maria sat down as Rosa took her place. "Unmarried and with child, 
I came home to live under the protection of a loving sister. Day 
after day, I saw the burdens that she carried and it broke my heart. 
I went to the church and prayed for a miracle every morning for a 
month. Then one day, an angel visited my sister and lessened her 
burdens in answer to my prayers. To my surprise, the angel visited 
me and taught me that I still had a right to dignity despite my past 
transgressions."

"He came to me many times. When I was down, he cheered me up. 
He treated me like a lady, calling me ma'am and talking to me with 
great politeness. He never treated me as a whore. So how could I, a 
fallen woman, reward an angel? One night, I found love in the 
form of a gentleman and his wife. He told me how I could repay 
this angel."

 Rosa sat down. There was a long pause as the women looked at 
each other. Juanita Mendosa finally stood and took the center of 
the room. She looked for support from the women along the side of 
the room. She stated, "I speak for a number of women in this room. 
Our stories are similar or the same, so it only needs to be told once. 
I once was a woman that lived in a shoe with too many kids and 
nothing to do. My husband was too busy to pay attention to me and 
I had too many kids to look for attention elsewhere."

"Then one day, cupid came to town. He brought enlightenment to 
Ed, a bigot and a bully. He spread a message of love and 
understanding to the men and women of the town. To a woman of 
conventional standards, such as me, his message was shocking. If 
you can love one, then you can love more than one. If you can love 
one sex, then you can love the other. To the men, the message 
undermined all that they held true."

"Cupid did not talk, he taught by demonstration. On the day of his 
wedding to his two wives and husbands, some men of the town 
decided it was time to stop cupid. They found themselves in a tent 
drinking beer and whiskey. Then Ed came to talk to the men and 
stated cupids message in a form they could understand. The men 
left enlightened."

"That night, many women of the town found flowers and presents 
upon their arrival home from the festivities. Their husbands talked 
to them through the night about love. The wives could not believe 
their ears as the men confessed their own fear and doubt. Men who 
had acted strong were in fact worried that they were not strong 
enough. The men were shocked to learn from their wives that they 
wanted gentlemen." 

"The wives used Ed as an example of a man that went from strong 
macho man to a gentleman. The gentleman, Ed, was polite and 
well mannered. He took his time and listened to people. He helped 
those around him. There was nothing soft about Ed, the gentleman. 
To learn that their own wives preferred the new Ed was more 
shocking than anything else that they had heard."

"Marriages that had faded now bloomed anew. Husbands and 
wives worked together to watch the kids so that other wives could 
spend time with their husbands. Informal family groups formed 
with three or more couples loving each other. Men tried men and 
women tried women. The results were surprising to many people."

"Now the happy wives gathered together one day. They asked the 
question as to how they could thank cupid for the amazing changes 
to their lives. They talked for days and many ideas were 
exchanged. The wives went to the husbands and asked the 
husbands for advice. The husbands met and decided that there was 
only one way to thank cupid.  Since cupid spoke of love, then the 
wives should give to cupid their love. The wives thought about it 
and decided that it was right and proper. The husbands came back 
and told the wives how to go about it."

She sat down and her place was taken by another woman. John 
only knew her slightly from the flower shop. She usually worked 
in the back and he dealt with the man at the counter.  He struggled 
to recall her name and then remembered that it was Wanda. She 
stated, "My story is rather different, as I have never formally met 
the man who saved my life. I grew up in this town. As long as I 
can remember, I have liked men and women both. While I liked 
men, the idea of sleeping with a woman made my knees weak and 
my lower region wet. In a small town, you do not ever admit that 
you desire to sleep with a person of the same gender. One day at a 
party, I drank too much and attempted to seduce a cheerleader. My 
attempt was public and by morning the whole town knew what I 
had done."

"Overnight I became a leper, women avoided me and men 
threatened me with rape so that I could learn to love men. I left 
town and moved to a big city where I could make love with the 
people of my choice. I was forced to return when my parents died 
to take over the flower shop. The memory of a small town is long 
and I had to hire someone to deal with the customers or else go out 
of business. Daily, as I trimmed stems, I pondered suicide; 
imagining the knife slicing my wrists rather than the stems."

"Then one day I heard that a strange marriage, of two men and two 
women, was taking place. Shortly after that, a woman came to the 
shop to talk to me. I, who had not talked with anyone in months, 
had a visitor.  To my surprise, she asked me about how to make 
love to a woman as she had found a woman that she desired. This 
visit was followed by others from other women. A few men came 
to ask about same gender love."

"My life has changed. I now have regular lovers, a man and a 
woman. I can take over the front counter and not loose any 
business. Business is better as people learned to love one another. 
Gifts of flowers became common practice."

"I looked around to find what was responsible for my new found 
life. It came down to a single hero and my best customer. Now, as 
I trim the stems with my knife, I wonder how I could thank this 
amazing man. My lovers suggested how I could I thank him."

She sat down to be replaced by Linda Redman. John was surprised 
to see her there. She stated, "One day a man walked across a desert 
to talk with a medicine man of my tribe. He paid a great price for 
his trip, losing three feline friends. From that meeting came a 
center of higher learning that has returned an ancient culture back 
to a lost people and has armed the people to better take care of 
themselves."

"The tribe met and talked of the charity of this man. Many of the 
tribe wanted to make him a member, but the medicine man said 
that while he would appreciate the gesture he walked with different 
spirit guides. The discussions went on for hours. Finally, I, an 
Indian maiden, stood up and stated that she would thank him on 
behalf of the tribe."

"There were arguments against a woman being sent to thank the 
man, but the counter argument was undeniable. I argued that this 
man had returned our children to the tribe. It should be the women 
of the tribe to thank him. It was rare, but not unknown, in the past 
for great heroes to be rewarded in this fashion."

"The tribe agreed with my arguments. However, the question 
remained concerning how I could present this hero with his 
reward. A suggestion came from a tribal member that had long 
been lost to us and has recently returned to us."

She sat down and her place was taken by Karla. John watched 
Karla walk over to the center of the room. She wore a short skirt 
and her scars were clearly visible. She stated, "I was once a little 
girl that lived in misery. I escaped into my own world through my 
art. Daily I moved farther and farther from the real world. My 
experiences with the real world were painful as they changed my 
bandages. Then one day a handsome man shattered my world and 
showed me other ways to escape that were temporary. He gave me 
the world of books. He freed me from experiencing the real world 
only in terms of pain and taught others how to keep that pain from 
my life."

"He valued the art I had created. Today I know that my drawings 
were simple, but he appreciated them. I understand now that he 
appreciated the effort that I put into them and not the pictures 
themselves. At the same time he gave a value to my art, that I had 
not known was there. I found that I could give pleasure through my 
art and in doing so get pleasure from that act."

"I have since found love from a handsome young man that sees me 
and not my scars. However, I can not return that love in full 
measure until I pay past debts. I owe my benefactor for freeing me 
from my misery and giving value to my life when it had none. My 
lovely young man knew of my plight and took me to his parents. 
Together they told me a story of how they once thanked the same 
man. My lover suggested that I repay my debt in the same way and 
I must admit that I found the idea quite pleasing. The question was 
how to do so. A friend from my days of misery told me of a way."

Karla stepped away from the center of the room and returned to her 
seat. John felt that it was his turn to reply and was about to stand 
when Beth stood. She walked to the center of the room. Facing 
John she stated, "One day a delegation of women came to visit our 
home to make known to us, your wives, their problem. They told 
us of their need to express their thanks to our husbands and the 
manner in which those thanks were to be expressed. We arranged 
this dinner so that you, our dear husband, would know that all 
people here are here by their own desire."

Beth returned to her seat as Kelly took her place. She stated, "As a 
woman, I know the devastation that can occur when a man who I 
respect refuses my advances. The greater and more significant the 
man is in a woman's life, the greater the hurt and anguish. For you 
to refuse their offers would be cruel and harsh punishment."

Kelly sat down as Ling took her place. "I, your newest wife, 
understand best their plight. For me, it was to become your wife or 
to leave your presence forever. You took me in and I can see you 
doing no less for these lovely ladies. You have our permission to 
be with these ladies."

Ling sat down as all eyes turned to John. John took a sip of his iced 
tea and considered what he was about to say. He stood facing the 
crowd, "Ladies, I am most honored this evening by your stories 
and your desires. Normally I would accept your offers in a minute. 
I can not do so as the offers have been made. Many others have 
reasons to be thankful for the events that have happened to you. 
They too must have a need to thank someone."

John paused and looked around the room at the women's reactions. 
Most were looking downcast and embarrassed. He continued, "If 
my wives will support me, then I will make a counter proposal. 
When a woman comes to our house to thank me, I wish that she 
bring someone else who wishes to express their thanks by making 
one of my wives or husband happy for an evening."

 Ed spoke for the first time, "It is a fair proposal and one that all in 
this room should be willing to embrace. I wish that I had thought 
of it two days ago when it was my turn to sit in your chair. I must 
beg to be left out as I have a line of people wishing to thank me as 
well."

Kelly, Beth, and Ling looked at each other. Suddenly they realized 
that giving another person a bevy of people to love was an entirely 
different experience from being given a number of people to love. 
They had arranged this so that they could be giving to these 
women without thinking of how John or Ed might feel. Ling broke 
the silence, "you have my agreement."

Kelly and Beth stated together, "You have mine."

The other women in the room breathed a sigh of relief. There was a 
chorus of women saying that they accepted that condition.  John 
waited until the noise quieted down, "Tonight, Karla and David 
shall come home with us as I know she must leave tomorrow. I 
shall allow you to work out the remainder of the schedule among 
yourselves."

The women in the room slowly dispersed as they went in search of 
the men in their lives. There was much for each couple to discuss. 
Karla had asked them to look for David and to send him back to 
the restaurant. Karla went outside to wait for David. 

The family sat together at the table. John turned to the wives, "I am 
sorry for dragging you into this, but they would not be thanking me 
if it were not for you."

"John, I'm so sorry that we did this to you. You should have been 
given a chance before we sprang this on you. The same goes for 
you Ed."

"That's okay Kelly."

"You were right in asking that they include the men. None of us 
considered their feelings in the matter. We were so focused on 
ourselves. All of us were horribly selfish."

"Beth, you weren't being selfish. You were trying to do the right 
thing."

Ling looked around, "Thank you, John for being so understanding. 
Ed, I really apologize to you. Can you forgive us?"

Ed smiled, "Of course, I agreed with you and thought this was a 
way to help them get on with their lives. I did not think it through 
like John, but our intentions were good."

At home, John opened the door to his room and led a very nervous 
Karla into it. She looked around the room taking in the sparse 
décor. She looked at the wall seeing for the first time her pictures 
hung in the order she had given him. Even the first two pictures 
she did for him were there. She put a hand to her mouth in surprise, 
"You've kept them all."

John smiled, "Of course, I treasure them immensely."

She went to look at the first two pictures. She frowned, "What did 
you ever see in these pictures? Why did you keep them?"

John knelt down to look at them. He turned to her, "I see a little 
girl that was happy and proud. Do you see that little squiggle 
there? That is where you were afraid for half a second that I 
wouldn't like the picture. Those two pictures are my most valuable 
possessions."

With tears in her eyes, Karla hugged him, "You never cease to 
amaze me. Why did you care for a little girl like that?"

John hugged her tightly and gently kissed her on the forehead. 
"You're very important to me. You've thanked me many times. 
Every time I see you smile instead of frown, I can only marvel."

Karla stepped back while begging, "Please sleep with me."

He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. Setting her 
gently on the bed, he laid down next to her. He kissed her gently. 
Years of masturbatory fantasies kicked in driving up her 
excitement level. She sat up so that she could remove her shirt. He 
helped pull her shirt up and over her head. Her small breasts, 
unconstrained by a bra, were topped by hard nipples.  His fingers 
circled her nipples causing her to catch her breath as a wave of 
excitement washed over her. He bent down and sucked upon a 
nipple, enjoying the response that his action induced. 

He undid her skirt and, as she lifted her hips, removed it from her. 
Her plain white panties followed the skirt quickly. He reached 
down and pulled off his boots. He wrestled with his robe to remove 
it. His boxers were next to go. 

Karla looked down at his cock with wide eyes. Her trembling hand 
reached out to touch it. It swelled under her touch as his blood 
rushed into his cock. She moved to watch it swell to a fully erect 
state. John flexed his internal muscles causing his cock to jump. 
She leaped back in surprise and then giggled. Despite the fact that 
she was now twenty, her innocent examinations of his cock made 
him think of the younger girl before she had grown up.

She bent down and licked his cock. He ran his hand down between 
her legs, touching her soft downy pubic hair.  He rubbed a finger 
along the length of her wet slit, eliciting a groan of pleasure from 
her. Her attention to his cock stopped as she settled back to enjoy 
his touch. He continued his slow rubbing and then slid a finger into 
her cunt. She arched her back in pleasure.

Curling his fingers, he rubbed her G-spot while sucking upon her 
breasts. She quickly approached the verge of an orgasm. He 
climbed atop her and positioned his cock at her entrance. He 
started a slow rocking motion that slowly drove his cock into her. 
Her tight cunt slowly stretched to admit his member. She 
murmured, "It's so big, it's so good."

He slowly worked his way into her. She wrapped her legs around 
his ass, pulling him into her. Finally, he had fully buried himself in 
her. She made little panting sounds as he began stroking into her a 
little faster. Her pants turned into little grunts the emerged in time 
with his thrusts. Her chest was flushed. She was covered with a 
fine sheen of sweat. She was close, very close to coming. The tight 
sensations on his cock were almost too much. He reached down 
and squeezed her nipple roughly. The shocking sensation took her 
over the edge. He followed her over, filling her with his juices.

He carefully lifted his body off hers and lay beside her on the bed. 
He took her in his arm in a loving embrace and held her. His other 
hand slowly stroked her arm in a relaxing rhythm. Tired from his 
trip, the dinner, and now the passionate love making with Karla, he 
fell asleep. She nestled into his body and slept as well.

He awoke before sunrise and went to perform his daily ritual while 
watching the sun break over the horizon. He returned to his room 
and watched Karla sleeping peacefully in bed. Leaning against the 
wall, he waited for her to wake. It was a long wait, but he enjoyed 
the view. 

Waking, Karla looked around for John. She smiled on seeing him 
leaning against the wall. "Good morning."

John smiled, "Good morning. I hope you slept well."

He went to her and kissed her gently on the lips. When she went to 
pull him back into bed with her, he resisted. "We should go eat 
breakfast. I'm sure the others are waiting for us."

She grumbled without ill intent as she dressed. Once dressed, he 
led her, holding hands, to the dining room. They entered to find 
Beth, Kelly, Ling, Ed, and David seated around the table eating 
eggs with salsa. David's eyes lit up on seeing her. Karla smiled at 
David and moved to sit next to him without even looking back at 
John. David leaned over to her. In his excitement his voice was a 
little louder than he intended, "Beth taught he how to pleasure a 
woman with my tongue. The whole time I was learning, I kept 
thinking to myself that I couldn't wait to do that for you."

As Karla blushed, Beth theatrically complained, "And here I 
thought you were only thinking of me. Even with a woman as 
gorgeous as me, he thinks of Karla. Ah, it must be true love."

Karla smiled over at Beth. "I must train him better."

Beth leaned over kissing Karla on the forehead, "My dear, you 
have him trained perfectly well already."

John put a hand on David's shoulder. "When I first met you, I knew 
that you would grow up to be a good man. You are a good man. I 
will proudly welcome you and yours into our home anytime you 
may wish entrance."

David looked uncomfortable at the praise, "Thank you, Uncle 
John."

John added, "We have a room upstairs that you and Karla may use 
if you should desire to freshen up before leaving. Sarah shall take 
you up there when you finish eating."

David got a huge grin, "Thank you, Uncle John."

John smiled, "You're quite welcome."

Karla looked shyly at the plate of eggs that Marguerite had brought 
out for her. She looked up at John, "When I talked to David's 
mother about my desire, she told me an interesting story. Is it 
true?"

John looked Karla in the eye, "I am sure that whatever she told you 
is true. David's parents are great people and I suggest that you both 
spend some time talking to them about marriage. If you listen to 
them, I'm sure that you'll be as happy together as they are with 
each other."




