Chapter 3

By mid-October, Anna Belle and Jasper were growing live corals and several species of tropical fish in a large aquarium in the basement of the Van Buskirk house where they'd set up their lab. By November, they were experimenting with small pieces of that coral in separate tanks with varying levels of salinity and acidity, trying to recreate ocean changes already happening with global warming and the drastically increased absorption of carbon dioxide. With Elmer's help and often under his direction, they'd begun recording microscopic changes in the alga side of the coral's symbiotic relationship, especially algal loss associated with coral bleaching.

The work required hours of carefully teasing out individual corals and examining them under the microscope. Elmer happened to own a very expensive one and offered it for their use. He taught them how to use the instrument, as well as what to look for by way of microscopic changes in cell structure. They kept copious, detailed notes on their work and either photographed or illustrated every finding they discovered. Theirs was going to be a very impressive piece of work.

And while they worked side by side and head to head several hours every weekend, they grew closer personally as well, if not in the way Jasper often fantasized about. Anna Belle usually spent nearly her entire Saturday and Sunday at the Van Buskirk house.

PJ lusted after Anna Belle from the very first time they met, trying his best to worm his way into her affections, but to no avail. She was never openly rude to him, but she made it very plain that she had no interest in his flirtations. After several failed attempts to impress her, he finally gave up in total frustration, completely bewildered by the obvious fact that she preferred Jasper's company to his. He would never understand eggheads.

Poor Jasper did his best to suppress his fruitless love for his science partner, never daring to say anything the least bit suggestive. For one thing, in spite of her teasing him that first night she came to dinner, she hadn't said or done anything since to indicate she was interested in being anything more than good friends. If anything, they were becoming more like siblings than anything else. And then there was the age barrier thing.

Mr. and Mrs. Van Buskirk had arrived home from their buying trip in late September. They took an immediate liking to Anna Belle, making her feel like one of the family. They were impressed with her charm and intelligence, and Alma in particular was delighted that Jasper had found a friend he felt so at ease with. If she picked up on Jasper's amorous feelings for the girl, she never let on.

As Anna Belle spent more and more time at the Van Buskirk home, she began to notice some peculiarities in the family dynamic. For one thing, Mr. and Mrs. Van Buskirk slept in separate rooms ... rooms on opposite ends of the house. Nobody came right out and announced that fact, it just sort of came to light. Curious, Anna Belle looked for, but never observed any behavior that would indicate Jasper's parents were on the outs, as it were. Quite the contrary, and probably more so than most couples who had been married for nearly twenty years, they appeared to always be loving, kind, and solicitous toward each other. She'd never heard them so much as disagree on anything. They seemed absolutely devoted to their two boys, and they regarded Elmer as one of the family. More than that, actually. If a stranger had dropped in on them without knowing anyone, they would have assumed Elmer was the head of the household because everyone seemed to defer to his opinions and authority.

Based on that and a couple of other passing observations, Anna Belle began to wonder if there was something more than an employer-employee relationship between Mrs. Van Buskirk and Elmer. More than once, she thought she caught exchanges of looks between them that implied something personal, something that might have easily been interpreted as looks of adoration, or at least mutual desire. Lust?

It would be understandable if that were the case, since Alma Van Buskirk and Elmer were both vibrant, attractive people. In fact, Alma had that same air of elegance as Ms. Sellers, but with a European flair.

Of course that kind of thing was certainly not unheard of, but as open as it was, she couldn't imagine that the entire family wasn't aware of it. Divorces had occurred over less. Well, it was none of her business, and she might very well be misreading the entire thing ... but she didn't think so. She sometimes wondered how she could learn what was going on without coming off as a rude, intrusive busybody.

Quite aside from the possibility of a little hanky-panky going on in the Van Buskirk household, Elmer seemed to hit it off very well with Ms. Sellers, seeing her on several occasions since the dinner back in September. There had to be something going on, but neither Elmer nor Carolyn ever mentioned anything, and neither would cave to any amount of nosey and sometimes not-too-subtle probing by those around them. But a keen, perceptive girl like Anna Belle didn't miss much, and she was positive Ms. Sellers was smiling a lot more in class than she did at the beginning of the term. Elmer, of course, was just Elmer; always seemingly upbeat and positive, but in fact, rather enigmatic. Trying to get a read on him was a study in futility.

But then one evening, at least part of the Van Buskirk family mystery was revealed accidentally. It was a Saturday evening, and Anna Belle was, as usual, present for dinner and a couple of hours work on the project with Jasper.

Elmer had served up an excellent Bavarian dinner of kartoffelkloesse und schweinebraten, potato dumplings with pork roast smothered in a burnt onion gravy, very tasty but heavy enough that one wouldn't even consider taking a swim in the pool for hours afterward for fear they'd sink like a rock. After dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Van Buskirk retired to their respective rooms as Elmer cleaned up in the kitchen. Anna Belle and Jasper went to the basement media room to stream a movie. A few minutes into the film, she lost interest and told Jasper she was going up to his room to go over the notes on the work they'd done that afternoon. Jasper said he was going to finish watching the movie and join her in an hour.

Up in Jasper's study, she'd been reviewing and editing the material for a few minutes when she needed to use the restroom. She stepped into the bathroom leaving the door open and using the light from the desk lamp as she sat on the toilet to pee. In the silence, she thought she heard noises coming through the door to Elmer's room sharing the bath with Jasper's.

The noises, sounding like guttural grunts and moans, were getting louder and louder, and while Anna Belle should have recognized them for what they were and left well enough alone, for some reason the source of the sounds wasn't clicking in her brain. Still sitting on the john, she leaned forward and gently turned the knob on the door. It eased open silently and she peeked around the doorsill. In the dim light from a small lamp on Elmer's nightstand, she had a clear view of something that left her stunned. Mrs. Van Buskirk was bare-assed naked on her knees and elbows on the edge of Elmer's bed. Behind her and sliding a very impressive cock in and out of her stood Elmer in all his natural glory.