45: The Thread

I was relieved when I heard Liz's motorcycle roar into the ranch on Tuesday evening. I ran outside and had her in my arms as soon as she got off the bike. She was hot and sweaty from riding in her leathers in the ninety degree heat. I had a solution for that and after a quick greeting with the rest of the casa, I led her straight to the shower.

"Brown is very cool, Brian. I can see why Nicolette loves it there. We went out to the ocean and down to the seaport. We booked into a motel for the weekend and the desk clerk just rolled his eyes like he saw lesbian lovers checking in every day of the week."

"Are you lesbian lovers now?" I laughed. I could almost imagine that.

"No! But what would you think if two hot girls rolled up on motorcycles and started stripping off their leathers in the hotel lobby? I think when our vests came off that the guy came in his pants," she laughed.

"What were you wearing?"

"Not much! Let's just say that Nicolette's rose was in full bloom."

"God! I missed you, Liz." I pulled her to me and held her tightly as I continued to shampoo her red locks. We grabbed towels and when we were reasonably dry I led her to the bed where I just held her and kissed her.

"So romantic," Liz said. "What's up, Brian? I was just gone a few days and certainly you had enough girlfriends here to keep you entertained. I'll bet you gave Angela a birthday treat, didn't you?"

"You are my cónyuge, so you have the right to know that Angela and I are lovers. But that's not the issue. I know that Nicki has made that trip on her bike alone without any incidents. For some reason, I was seized with an irrational fear that you'd be hurt, injured, attacked, or something, and no one would know where you were. And I realized how much I love you and how impossible living would be if you were gone and I couldn't do anything to help," I said. It all came out in a rush as I admitted how worried I'd been. It hadn't been so bad the first few days. It was only when I realized Liz was out there alone, traveling on her bike, that it had hit me.

"Oh, Brian. Do you know how much I love you?" she responded. "I know I'm supposed to be the wild one and be independent, but you are the anchor that holds me steady. Do you want me to give up my wild ways and my lovers? I will for you, Brian. You are always my one true love."

"No, Liz. I never feel bad about you with Nicki or Doug. I'm not upset that you help Cassie with Josh or play around with the other guys. It's not like that. You talk about an anchor. We've forged a kind of bond over the years that I just can't imagine breaking. I only want you to be safe, my love." We got lost in kisses for a while. I wasn't rushing to the main event. I really wanted to bask in the love I felt from Liz.

"I wonder why you don't feel that way when Nicki is out there alone. Or Donna. Or even Heaven," she mused. "We really do have something special, don't we?"

"Yes, we do, Red. You aren't the only one, but becoming cónyuge has changed my perspective on commitment. I know we are in it—how'd you say it the first time?—in it for the long haul. And I realized that, even though it might not happen with all my cónyuge, one day in the future, I'm going to be moving inside you like this and looking into your eyes while we make our little daughter in your tummy. Maybe we won't have twelve, but I just know in my heart that we'll have that one," I said. Liz came. It wasn't a screaming orgasm like she was prone to, but she stiffened under me and thrust her hips toward me. She clamped her mouth over mine and kissed me with a ferocity that left me breathless as she pulsed around my cock. I could feel her fluids running down my balls.

"Once the condom comes off, lover, I'll be a baby-making machine. And only with you, Brian. Only with you."

How did it happen, lover? I couldn't let her go all night long and now my face is still buried in her hair. And as I feel you pressed close to my back for our special time together, I know that I wasn't talking about just Liz. You, Rose, Samantha, Jennifer, Courtney, Whitney, Elaine, Doreen. It's not that I love any of our other compañera less than I love you, but there is something else under the surface that makes it even more.

I don't know where this burst of insight came from, other than my relief that Liz was home and safe. But I could see the connections, like the red thread on your wrist. And I can see them forming, as well. Mary, Cassie, Angela. I can see their threads. I know I have the same kind of bond with Josh, too, so it isn't just sex that makes the difference. I can only think of it as commitment.

I just know that I'm not getting up to bake bread this morning. I'm not going to let go of my lovers until I have to. I love you. I love all of you. I love each of you.

I didn't even get to see the first stage of the house delivery on Monday. When we all pulled out to go to class, Ron's crew had arrived and they were positioning the crane, but the modules hadn't gotten there yet. Rhonda, Samantha, April, and Rachel were cutting classes for three days and had been joined by three cameramen from their class. They'd brought out two stationary cameras from the media lab and had our two cameras as well. It was their project and I had to go to my chemistry class.

When I got home, two sections of our home had been positioned on the basement and the first floor living area was bolted together. I got to tour it while the crew was still there, but there wasn't really much to see yet. These two sections were the main part of the house, but the kitchen unit hadn't arrived yet. Since they had to pile two more layers on top, the kitchen would be the last section to be placed, expanding the footprint. Until all six units had been delivered, everything inside remained covered in plastic except the utility connections the crew was working on in the basement. It was exciting to have something finally going up near where the old farmhouse had been, but it was still hard to imagine the finished house.

Tuesday it looked the same, but taller. This time, we weren't allowed inside. Rachel said there were too many unfinished joins and the stairs had not been stabilized. I did love the look of the bay window that would have a view over our designated park area where the firepit was.

I couldn't help myself. I cut classes Wednesday as did the rest of my casa. We watched in awe as the crane moved the third floor on top of the structure. Then everything had to be repositioned to put the kitchen unit in place. Our house was huge. Ron's crew would enclose the basement storm shelter entry next week. After our experience with the tornado last year, we'd agreed that the big house would have an entrance accessible by the whole clan to get into the basement.

A smaller truck delivered the front porch, which was integral to the overall construction. The back deck was going to be custom built as it would be bigger than the normal spec for the model. We were all going crazy looking at the place and walking around the perimeter. We weren't allowed to go inside until the crane had been moved out and was being loaded on the flatbed. The crew was still all over it and things were being connected, but it was going to take the better part of Thursday and Friday to get everything into move-in condition. Still, it was awesome. We were about to have a new home.

It was nearly seven at night on Friday when the inspector finally left the house and handed Rachel the Certificate of Habitability. Rachel, in turn, handed the certificate to Rose along with the keys to the house. There was a mad dash to move our beds, bedding, and toiletries to the top floor of the new house. It was weird to have absolutely no other furniture in the house as we moved everything up. There were four perfectly good bedrooms on the second floor with two full baths, but we'd all decided before the roof was locked into place that we liked the sleeping arrangement in the barn and wanted to keep it. The difference was that there wasn't anywhere near as much closet space in the twenty by thirty room and only one bathroom. It was a big one that ran the full twenty foot width of the upstairs. One of the bedrooms on the second floor was designated as a closet and the other three rooms would be bedrooms for private assignations, like Sora and Tim, or for guests. The master bedroom would be assigned to Joanne when she arrived next week. It was pretty luxurious and I was told that it would be mine any time I wanted it, no questions asked.

I still hadn't mastered the art of sleeping alone, but I was enjoying a night each week that I had just one of my cónyuge with me. The time to connect and really focus on Elaine or Courtney or Rhonda, without anyone else even accidentally disturbing us, was precious. Once we had what we needed for the night, we went to bed. Sort of. We got naked and rolled around on the beds a lot, not really trying to make love, though sometimes succeeding at least a little. I dipped into each of my cónyuge briefly. Liz stopped to secure a condom on me before she settled down.

"One day, love," she said. "One day."

I also had loving moments with each of my compañera and with my novia. Angela, Sora, Mary, and Cassie kissed and touched and gave me free access to their bodies. Eventually, though, it was Rose who settled onto my cock and rode me to completion while the rest of the casa held us and each other and sighed.

We were home.

Of course, we had no time at all to enjoy it. Saturday morning was my first taping session for the next season of Young Cooking. Lauren was my producer/director and she was ushering her crew into the barn at eight o'clock. Mary, Elaine, and I were already in the kitchen prep area getting ready. Mary had taken the lead on prep for the show this summer and was keeping the position. TK and Pam, of course, were back in Mishawaka, so Elaine stepped in to assist. Angela was bringing a ton of food in from the garden. She went back to the house to recruit Whitney, Liz, Jennifer, and Courtney to come over and help snap green beans. Today we would do our first canning demonstration.

Lauren had picked up where Maggie left off before the summer production camp ended. One of the campus groups that was active year-round was the Women in Business from the Kelly School of Management. Lauren had actually interviewed half a dozen candidates for the role of girlfriend and picked the woman she considered to be the best able to keep up her end of the conversation during the show. The unfortunate part was that none of the women would get to actually sample food we cooked, though I planned to give each a pint of beans. I found that Elaine and Mary had already considered this and had prepared small trays of snacking vegetables and a large pot of tea for the ladies who would be at the counter.

I noticed that Rhonda and April had come in and were in Stall One. At one point, Lauren called April over for a whispered conference and then April went back to the office. They were there to give support, but not to take over. Last year, Lonnie had been at every Saturday taping session to oversee the students. This year, since Rhonda was not actively directing, she had the oversight responsibility. In any case, she was not intruding on Lauren's space.

"Cameras. Sound." Lauren called out the directions and heard the 'ready' response from each.

"This is Episode 61 of Young Cooking with Chef Brian. We are live in three..." She counted off the seconds on her fingers and pointed at me.

ME: Hi, this is Chef Brian. Welcome to Young Cooking. I'm privileged to have IU's Women in Business with me today. Julie, would you like to join me for our demonstration today? [Comes around counter. Apron is tied on.] We had an opportunity to talk before the show and I asked you whether women in business even wanted to learn to cook these days. You put me in my place and I'd like you to share what you said with our audience.

JULIE: I'm sorry if I came off harsh, Chef Brian. Everyone is still learning about our roles in the new society. Yes, we are smart women who have big plans for a career in one area of business or another. But men have careers in business and still have a family. We believe women can, too. That basically just doubles the amount we have to learn. We'd all love to have boyfriends like you who will cook for us every night, but in reality, we can't share responsibility for something we don't know how to do. Most of us have at least some experience in the kitchen, but at our age, we're still learning our way around.

ME: Well, Julie, I hope we'll broaden your horizons today a little and perhaps some guys who are watching will also get ready to share some of those responsibilities. Today we're going to go back to an old tradition in Indiana kitchens. We're going to can green beans.

The show went well. The taping was good. At one point, I opened a can of beans we'd taken the label off and then asked them to compare the canned green beans to those mushy travesties that people buy in stores. They were suitably amazed. I thanked our guests and they left with a pint of freshly canned green beans each.

Lauren immediately called all of us together. I wasn't used to this. She even asked Elaine, Angela, and Mary to join us as she replayed portions of the tape. Most of what she had to say was directed to the cameramen and sound tech. There was a sloppy cut that the mixer got called on. I was surprised when she pointed out a couple things I was doing that were also problems and at one point played back a portion where there was noise from the prep kitchen. She asked us each to work on our parts so we would have a flawless performance next weekend.

I was pretty amazed. Rhonda and April were both highly artistic and got results through simply moving people through their steps. Lauren was analytical. She saw flaws and told people to correct their own performance. Including me. I was going to learn something from working with her.

When we were finally finished, I headed back to the house. Mom, Dad, and Anna had arrived to see the finished product. They hadn't been able to be here during the install, but were really excited to see the result. There was more finish work in the basement and the back deck to be done, but the house still looked pristine. As soon as the studio was cleared, we moved the living room furniture and the dining tables and chairs. We had to do some negotiating. Originally, the tables were for the casa and clan, so it was logical they would move to the new house. But there was also a problem of needing a large dining table for shows. We wouldn't be using them for every broadcast, but many of the planned shows involved sitting down to eat the results. And there were people living in the loft dormitories who deserved to have a comfortable place to sit down for dinner.