Chapter 202: Back to New York

Wednesday, July 7, 1971

It was raining outside, but that didn’t matter at the moment as I had a tiger by the tail. Or maybe I should say the tiger had me!

“You know, I think that being pregnant has made me even hornier,” Sandy told me as she moved slowly back and forth on top of me. “Or is that MORE horny?” she asked while she wiggled her hips, driving Little Mike deeper inside her.

“Definitely the ‘more’ horny,” I mumbled. “I like it when you do that.”

“Why do you call him Little Mike?” she asked out of the blue as she slid forward slowly.

“Because I’m Big Mike,” I replied.

“Well, I think that he’s Big Mike because he fills me so-o-o full!” Sandy moaned.

“Why is it, that girls always seemed to want to talk when they’re on top?” I wondered to myself.

“Because that’s when we’re sure that you will listen to us!” a different voice said from beside me.

“No way, bitch! Go back to sleep. You had him last night and wore him out so bad, I had to wait until this morning!” Sandy told Jessica with a giggle, followed by a moan as she slid back down on Little, ... er, Big Mike.

“You’re just sore because I got him first,” Jessica chided.

“No. I’m sore because of this monster inside me!” she retorted as they both giggled.

“Well hurry up, slut. I think I want another ride,” Jessica said.

“You snooze, you lose.”

“Hey! Don’t I get a say in this?” I asked.

“NO!” they both shouted together.

By the time we left the Lodge for the Dining Hall, the rain had stopped, but it was still overcast and cool. We weren’t the only ones late to breakfast. I think the rain had slowed everyone down. We had to wait in line for the breakfast buffet, and when we finally made it through, we joined the rest of my family crowded around two tables.

While it might have been rainy and dreary outside, inside the Dining Hall, our group was excited. I decided to focus on eating my breakfast and listening to them talk as I tried to figure out why.

Their talk was centered around the dinner play last night and our upcoming trip to Tapato.

“You were hilarious, Michael,” Rachael told me.

Yes, Rachael was with us. After reintroducing her to everyone at dinner last night, I had proceeded to tell them how I saw her fitting into our quest to find the codex. For some reason, the girls all just accepted that she was one of them, even though Rachael and I both tried to enlighten them on the difference in her connection, explaining that hers wasn’t really based in love, like theirs. But they acted as if I hadn’t even spoken as they pulled her in and were soon talking like I wasn’t even there.

Later, when I asked Sandy and Jessica about it, they had just laughed.

“Even you can’t possibly believe what you said,” Sandy had told me.

“Yeah, for someone so smart, I can’t believe how dense you are sometimes,” Jessica added.

Oh, well...

Now, on such a drab morning, I had expected them to be a little sullen, or even to stay in bed. But here they were, chatting like it was sunny and mild outside. Women! I don’t think I’ll ever figure them out, even with my gifts.

“We’re leaving for the train at noon, Michael, so don’t go wandering off. We should get to Denver by two-thirty, and then, from there, we’re taking Anna’s father’s plane to New York,” Grace told me. “Adriana wants you to drop by the office to sign some things and look at the company’s fourth quarter projections. Then you have to meet with Wally and the attorneys on finalizing the Cherry Ridge deal. Catherine said you should just sign it, by-the-way.”

“Okay,” I sighed. With the state dinner and the codex, I hadn’t thought about Wagner Industries much in the last week.

“Anna said that you and Ileana were leaving tomorrow for the weekend, but didn’t say where you were going. If you can, Vickie wants you to review some of the preliminary contracts for the stuff on the Indian reservation before you go. Eve has the details. Also, it would be good if you spent some time with Adriana. She could use some encouragement from you. Her therapy is really getting her down and she’s still not speaking to her mom.”

“Did Anna say what time Ileana and I were going?” I asked Grace.

“Not until after lunch, but I tried to leave you a little time because she said you would have to meet with the FBI sometime. Also, Mr. Graham called. You have to sign about a million documents now that you’re the president. I figured you could knock that out before you go home tonight.”

My hand was already tired just thinking about signing all those papers.

“Also, Nicky and Amy want to meet with you about something to do with the foundation and Adriana wants to know if we can take an extra person with us to Tapato.”

“What’s Adriana got on her mind?”

“She wants to take a secretary and a fax machine to keep in touch with the office. We realize that overseas calls are expensive, and we thought that if they could just fax you the things that required an immediate signature, it would be more efficient.”

“Anything else, Miss Slave-Driver,” I asked.

“Well, the Castleberrys, Izzy and Deedee, and all your cousins except John and Jeff, will be arriving in New York tomorrow. And your grandmother and David will be back on Saturday.”

“And what will you all be doing while Ileana and I are working?” I asked.

“Why ... shopping, of course!”

“Of course,” I sighed to myself. “Why did I even ask?”

It was drizzling when we left for the train. Sandy’s mom, Jaye, had rented a school bus to take us to the railroad siding where the train was parked. I appreciated the gesture and told her so as we boarded the bus.

“Please, it was my pleasure. And I want to thank you for inviting us to the wedding. I was so afraid we’d miss it,” Jaye said. “I don’t know how you talked my brother into taking off, but I’m so happy you did.”

Once we were on board, I stowed the sword in my stateroom and slipped into some dry jeans. Hanna, Shelby, and Rachael were waiting in the parlor part of the rail car when I walked out of my stateroom. Hanna was holding the Super8 handheld camera I had gotten for her.

“Michael, we would like to interview you and Rachael and get as much of it on tape as possible. You can fill us in on everything from yesterday.”

I looked at Rachael and saw her start to blush.

“This could be fun,” I thought to myself.

I’ll show YOU fun if you embarrass me!” Rachael thought back.

“Hey. We’re right here and can hear every word!” Hanna reminded us playfully.

“I think I’m beginning to see what you meant about no secrets,” Rachael said to Hanna.