Chapter 21: The Bacchae

“YOU’RE HERE!” I exclaimed when Peter and Jane showed up at the shop on Saturday afternoon. “It’s so wonderful to see you!”

We hugged all around. The girls kissed both Jane and Peter, but Toni needed to talk to Peter right away.

“Did you bring dogs?” she asked breathlessly.

“Oh, sweet little thing! The dogs had to stay with Brian at the castle. I’m sorry.”

“Okay. I show you horses.”

“Really? You have a horse?”

“At the ranch. Tomorrow is Sunday. We go ride horses,” Toni declared.

Well, it had become a regular Sunday afternoon activity for us. She was getting pretty good. For my part, I could stay in the saddle and usually the horse did what I wanted it to. As long as I wanted the same thing he did.

“When do you want to get started?” Patricia whispered to Jane.

“Oh, we have a couple of days to get settled. I’m just finishing the monthly. We don’t have to go straight to bed,” Jane said.

My girlfriends were as excited about getting Jane pregnant as she was.

“I might need to find some entertainment while I’m here,” Peter chuckled. “You will still take care of things, won’t you, Nate?”

“As well as I’m able, Peter. You both still have the option of backing out.”

“I don’t think so. We’ve been married seven weeks and people have already started dropping hints that we should get started,” he said. “And we’ve talked about it frequently. We do need to go over the legal papers. I know it is an important issue for you and we tried to be as open as we could. It will be a sensitive topic among the nob-watchers in Britain. We took off on our honeymoon five weeks ago. At least when we are in some other part of the world, we needn’t worry about the gossipmongers.”

“I can’t imagine how difficult it must be,” I said.

“We’re trying to make sure it’s not difficult on your family. We’ll be here in Stratford for the month, but we plan to head back home in August. That way we’ll be able to present it as a done deal while we were on our honeymoon. No one will think to track it to our American friends who come to London in September.”

“I hope it works the first time around,” I said. “It took Patricia and me a couple of months.”

“I hope you plan on more than one time. If we aren’t successful, there will be all winter to arrange things.”

We helped Peter and Jane get settled at the hotel and then went to dinner. We all agreed to hold off going to the theatre until the next week. Nonetheless, we had a good time and promised to see them Sunday afternoon to go to the ranch.

Monday morning, of course, was when we got to show off our friends. We all went to That Scottish Café, where so many theatre people came for Monday breakfast.

“Lady Jane and Lord Peter,” Kathleen exclaimed when she came into the café. “How wonderful that you’ve come to Stratford!”

Jane bypassed the offered handshake and hugged Kathleen and then Damien. Damien introduced Anita before being embraced by Peter.

“I was saddened that we couldn’t attend the wedding,” Kathleen said. “We’d already begun rehearsals here and there was no way to escape.”

“Oh, we had several people we wanted to see but weren’t able to. I took Peter to Australia for a month before we came here. Did I tell you we saw Dale in Melbourne, Nate? Of course, she sends you her love.”

“I saw her just in March,” I said. “I’m glad you spent time with her.”

“We went to Perth, as well,” she said. “I didn’t want my husband to get bored while I was with a girlfriend. Ari was very hospitable.”

“I’m glad you saw him, too!”

I had to process what Jane was saying. A little wink of her eye led me to believe she’d managed to get Ari and Peter together. She was certainly taking care of her husband.

“Hello, my lovelies,” Eugene said sweeping into the room. Emma, Tessa, and Greta jumped to greet him. His voice just filled the room and everyone turned to see him.

“Who is that gorgeous man?” Peter whispered.

“Mmm. That is Eugene Stevens. He plays Dionysus in The Bacchae and is completely different in The Taming of the Shrew as Christopher Sly. I actually had to look at the program to figure out it was him in Shrew,” I said.

“I do hope you will take time to introduce me properly. Those girls are distracting him.”

“I found Eugene at the opera in Milan and captured him immediately,” Damien said.

“I’m sorry, Damien. I didn’t realize you swung that way,” Peter quickly apologized.

“No need to apologize. I mean I put him on contract. As soon as I saw him and heard his voice, I knew I wanted him for Dionysus. I had to guarantee salary until the end of the year so we can get established in London with the show,” Damien said.

“London? You’re coming to London?” Peter said.

“Yes. We’ll open The Bacchae with The P Pirates in October in the West End. New rock opera that we’ll premiere here in three weeks.”

“Wonderful!”

Peter was obviously struck by Eugene’s presence. I really had no idea what Eugene’s sexuality was. He certainly kept the Weird Sisters close to him, but he did have a bit of an effeminate side. I thought that was going to play extremely well in the opera.

After our breakfast, Ronda and I had to hurry over to the Patterson stage to photograph Inook and the Sun. It was a small cast and an unusual play that would be performed only for one weekend, like most shows in the experimental theatre. The play made use of both marionettes and live actors integrated together to tell the story of the young Eskimo boy Inook and his adventures in search of the sun.

It was pretty cool. The marionettes were operated by at least two people for each, who stood on a platform above the action. The live actors and the marionettes interacted with each other in a rather broad style, but watching the puppeteers was just as interesting as watching the action below.

We shot pictures all afternoon and then I headed for the studio to get film developed and proofs pulled. Ronda kept me company in the darkroom as well as having kept all the notes and managing the film during the shoot. We worked well together, and it didn’t take long for us to get naked once we were in the darkroom.

We were pretty lazy about actually processing film and printing proofs. We got it done, but we spent a lot more time just touching and talking. And eventually, I found myself slipping into her fiery center as she moaned into my mouth.

“Do you have any idea how hot it makes your wives to think of you putting a baby in that skinny countess?” Ronda said. She began moving on me as I played with and sucked on her nipples. “Even Patricia is thinking that Alex is old enough she could start another one.”

“Alex isn’t even six months old yet!” I practically shouted. “And I distinctly remember Patricia saying she was through now. She can’t seriously think having another baby is a good idea.”

“Of course she doesn’t think it’s a good idea. I don’t think it would be a good idea for you to plant one in me. But I’m here moving with your penis in my vagina thinking about how you could be putting one of your monster babies in my tum. Can you imagine me with someone the size of Alex trying to get out of your fuck glove? They’d have to cut me open, too. But I want to feel you putting live wigglers up in my vagina and feel them trying to find the egg that isn’t there for them.”

“Ronda, you’re painting pictures in my head. I want to keep my cock in you until I feel a baby starting to grow there.”

“Yes! You know what we’re thinking. And Anna ... Anna is thinking maybe she could trick you into assuming you were doing Jane when you were really doing Anna. She’s wondering if there is some psychological way she could be in Jane’s head—in her body, too—as you plant a big baby up there and she carries it back to England. Anna is probably waiting outside the darkroom door so she can take my place and imagine you impregnating her.”

“I’m not going to last long enough for her to get in here,” I said.

“And I’m not going to unlock the door until I’ve got as much of your baby batter in me as I can milk out of you. Do it, Nate. Come in my vagina. Pump it up against my cervix and let me suck it up into my womb. Do you feel it?” She put my hands on her tummy as we continued to move together. “I can feel your cock straining to get to my eggs. Give them to me! Give me all of them!”

“Oh, God!”

There was no more holding back. Ronda, the smallest of my wives, was doing her best to drain me dry. I flooded her pussy and felt the backwash running out of her and down my balls. We kissed frantically as I tried to put more into her and she lifted her legs to my shoulders to open herself further. I had to focus on holding her so she didn’t fall off my lap onto the darkroom floor. We just kept kissing until my softening cock was finally pushed out of her by one of her pulses.

“I think we made a mess,” I breathed.

“Oh, yeah. And the longer you hold me in this position, the more that’s going to run out of me and onto your chair. Love me, Nate. It’s the only thing in the world I desire.”

Of course, this was exactly the time that business in the studio began picking up. I had two studio appointments that week for actresses who had days off. I sorted through the flats John had delivered this spring and found some great settings for portraits. One was an interior of a palace that looked like we were standing at the top of a staircase looking down among marble pillars.

The first model I put against that scene started to get dizzy, but I got an interesting shot that looked like she was falling down the staircase. I carried her to a bedroom set to recover and managed to get her undressed as I comforted her. Keying off the experience with the staircase painting, I chose a couple of unusual angles, including duplicating the falling pose while she lay on the bed.

The next model only barely tolerated having her portrait taken before she started stripping off her clothes right in the middle of the set.

“I came here for nude pictures, not a high school yearbook. Tell me what looks good. I try to pose in a mirror, but it’s never right. You need to move me into position.”

That proved to be an interesting afternoon. She was interested in, shall we say, a wide range of positions rather than poses. Some of them came from an illustrated book of sex positions she had with her.

“In this position, could you actually enter me?” she asked. “I mean, you don’t actually have to do it, but could you get in the position with me so I know it actually works? Some of the positions in this book look uncomfortable for both parties.”

There was a lot of touching and a lot of pictures, some of which exposed more than I’d normally show in an art photo. Some of the positions were uncomfortable for one or both of us. Then again, at least one position was satisfying enough that we stayed in it until she’d cried out her orgasm and then made sure I got mine.

When she was ready to leave, I reminded her not to forget her book.

“Oh, you can have the book. I’ve already memorized all the positions.”

I thought maybe my wives would enjoy it.

Jane and Peter were not idly hanging around waiting for me to impregnate Jane. We’d all had a good time together at the ranch Sunday afternoon. Jane and Peter were both accomplished horse persons. I shivered a little when Jane took a lively horse over a series of jumps in the arena. Toni immediately wanted to “jump horsie.” The ranch manager had a smaller set of jumps set up just for this purpose and led Toni’s horse over the simple jumps at a walk while Patricia and I jogged alongside.

We all enjoyed the opening of Inook and the Sun Thursday night and went to the bar to celebrate with the cast afterward. Taming of the Shrew was dark that night and Eugene had gone to see the experimental show. I wasn’t sure if they’d set it up in advance or not, but Eugene sat next to Peter, both at the show and at the bar.

The next morning, however, Jane and Peter went to Niagara-on-the-Lake, to catch a couple of performances at the Shaw Festival. It was only a hundred miles or so from Stratford, but we’d never paid much attention to it. We were too busy in Stratford. Peter, however, was adamant that they had to attend the show in the new Shaw Festival Theatre. The Queen had been there for the grand opening just a week before and Her Majesty would surely ask Peter what he thought of the play and the new theatre the next time they talked.

They saw Shaw’s You Never Can Tell and Fanny’s First Play. They’d also spoken highly of William Golding’s The Brass Butterfly, which was playing in rep. I knew who Shaw was, but it took some coaching before I remembered William Golding as the author of Lord of the Flies, which we’d read in high school. It was the first year for the Shaw Festival to run all three shows in repertory, rather than one following another.

What was more important, though, was Lady Jane’s twenty-fourth birthday on Tuesday the tenth, and her announcement as we all had dinner together to celebrate, that she was ready to start ‘getting in a mommy way.’

Peter excused himself after dinner and said he was going to see Eugene in Shrew, and would probably be out ‘late, at least.’ Jane became an instant part of the family that night, bringing along a suitcase so she could live with us for a week or so.

“Jane, it’s a momentous decision,” I said as we retired to the guest room. “Are you sure you want to proceed?”

“I’m definitely ready to have a child, Nate. And other than my husband, I can think of no man I would rather launch that journey with.”

“You’re really in love with Peter, aren’t you.”

“Yes. I didn’t intend to be. He is younger—only twenty—and he’s gay. It didn’t sound like a match made in heaven. But we spent time together and discovered we had many common interests. He often works with me as my assistant when I’m on a photography assignment. He has a wonderful eye and is often in the darkroom with me after a stimulating photo session. We even sometimes strip and cuddle in the darkroom. Sometimes, I wish I could do for him sexually what Derek or even Eugene does. But I don’t want to change him. He is a wonderful partner.”

“And he’s consented to have you come to me to get pregnant.”

“I think he told you and your wives that explicitly. And here I am.”

“Do you care for me a little?” I asked. It felt funny to say that—like it should be something the woman was supposed to say. I needed to know, though, that there was more to what we were about to do than me sticking my dick in her hole.

“You know I do, Nate. You’re a wonderful friend and lover. And I love you for being able to do what my husband cannot. This is not something to do once and walk away from. We want you and your family—all six of you—to be a part of our lives. There may come a time when we’ll want another child. And ... uh ... periodically, you know, I would like to connect with you. Just for fun.”

By this time, Jane and I had each other undressed, but were still standing in the middle of the guest room, kissing, and fondling each other. I had no difficulty holding and making love to my British friend. Yes, and being her lover.

The girls had all kissed us both passionately before we retired and had promised to make sure Jane was not only impregnated, but was fully satisfied. Jane kissed Ronda twice as passionately after that declaration.

We eventually drifted to the bed and stretched out together as we continued to kiss and pet. I moved down her body, worshiping her breasts and then on down her stomach and between her legs. As I sort of expected, Jane was mentally turned on, just by the knowledge that she could get pregnant tonight. But physically, she was not quite as ready.

I gently parted her lips and bathed the vestibule with my tongue as she moaned her pleasure. I took my time and didn’t move directly to her clit, first making sure her pump was primed and even straying over her anus a few times. I didn’t think Jane was one who would particularly enjoy anal sex. She’d been willing to try with Peter, but it just didn’t work for either of them. At the same time, the nerves in that area were undeniably connected to the other erogenous zones and she was soon lubricating prolifically. Then I moved to focus on her clit as I introduced first one finger and then two into her pussy.

Jane was lost in the sensations and writhing on the bed when she came. I slid up her body and into her in one motion as we kissed.

“You’re in me,” she breathed. “Nate, I love you. I do. Please, fill me with your sperm and let us make a baby.”

“I can hardly decline an invitation like that,” I said. “But I want you to come again. I want you to come, knowing that I’m going to make you pregnant. Patricia read in one of her pregnancy books that conception when both parents are in orgasm is the most positive kind. You’ll have to ask her what book. For now, I’m going to roll over so you are on top and I can reach all your pleasure points. Don’t worry, my love. I will be with you when you come.”

With Jane riding me and my hands busy at her nipples and clit, it did not take long for her to reach that climax. I joined directly with her and then rolled us back over on her back as I continued to pump into her and stay hard until she was caught up and ready to go again.

We didn’t fuck all night. We did get some sleep. But it was clear to all of us that this was not going to be a one and done operation. Jane would be living with us for at least a few days.

On Sunday, we celebrated Toni’s fifth birthday by returning to the ranch to ride. Jane and Peter surprised her with full riding gear, including jodhpurs, jacket, boots, and a helmet—for which I was doubly thankful. Jane and Peter were dressed in their riding clothes as well, making the rest of us look like the old west. Peter promised Toni that when she moved to England, he would make sure she had real lessons in proper dressage. Peter was definitely one of Toni’s favorite people.

Grandpa Tor and Grandma Elise came up for the weekend and were soon as caught up in the mystique of Stratford as the rest of us. And they were instantly a part of Jane and Peter’s circle of friends, plotting when they would come to London to visit us.

And all through that time, Jane stayed resident in our guest room, or in our family bed. Ronda made good on her promise that Jane would be thoroughly sated.

Of course, I also made time for Jane in my studio. I selected a backdrop by one of John’s students and reminded myself to thank him again for the great backdrops. I’d not seen a lot of him this summer, but this week we’d be photographing The Bacchae, and I was sure I’d be seeing him there. The backdrop was a blue-gray textured flat and I had Jane stand in front of it. It took a while to get the lighting right so she was well-lit, but the flat faded to blackness next to her, engulfing her shadow in limitless darkness. Yes!

Jane was truly an exquisite model and it was not at all difficult to get her naked in front of my camera. Her daily look typically had her long blonde curls tied up in a knot behind her head or braided. I understood Peter loved to braid her hair. I could see why.

Ronda slipped into the darkroom with us and made sure Jane was getting all the attention she deserved. By the time I had the film developed and proofs printed, I was merely the source to fill the vessel—a task I did happily while Ronda licked our noble lover to another orgasm.