Chapter 45: Happy New Year

Christmas was a happy day for all of us at Camp Forge. We had a fire going in the living room all day and many relatives and visitors. People were coming and going, and the outside weather was brisk.

Jim’s parents arrived Christmas Eve day and we put them up in one of my daughter’s suites, with their permission of course. Jan’s mother also came and got a room. Sawyer was around most of the time, but did disappear now and then to visit his parents over the holiday.

I helped Debbie set-up a Facetime call with her parents who were in Japan. Her father had a large project there he was managing. They opted to just stay on-site over the holiday and keep things moving along.

Of course, Kim’s mother Penny was a member of the Circle, along with her sister June and brother-in-law Jim. So, we felt very family-ish over Christmas. We adopted Vanessa and gave her a ranking as Kim and June’s third sister.

Many of us had planned a special present for Vanessa – if she wanted it. The present was her own room on the bedroom floor of the home. There was one small suite left, and it was twice the size of the apartment she had been living in over the garage as our chef.

The new suite also delivered the message that she was a desired and unconditionally-loved member of the Circle. The offer also recognized that she had ‘healed’ up from the implosion of her marriage, family, and the abuse of her now ex-husband and his friends.

Vanessa had finally started to participate just like the other men and women in our group gatherings for sex. She’d been with each of us in the Circle in an intimate way, and had not felt that she was regressing back to the degrading behavior that had gone on in her marriage. Although some activities were identical, the intent was dramatically different.

Christmas morning, we and our guests gathered around the Christmas tree in the living room. The girls took turns handing out the presents. Kim got the honor of giving Vanessa the little box that came ‘With Love, From Everybody in the Circle’.

Vanessa opened it with some eagerness and puzzlement about what it might be. From inside the box she produced a simple room key, but she didn’t know that at the time. It was simply ‘a key’.

She looked at some of us, in puzzlement. “What’s this for?”

Some of us smiled but shrugged. Bob said, “I guess you better start trying it on doors to see if it opens anything around here, right?”

Penny had been cued to say, “Hint, it doesn’t open anything on this floor.”

Vanessa’s eyes got large and she literally ran to the stairway, and took them two at a time up to the bedroom floor. Several of us followed along behind her.

There was, up to that point, three unused or ‘guest’ bedrooms on normal days. On our sexual weekends, they usually filled up with visitors such as Heather, Swayer, Ally and a few others.

Vanessa tried the key in one door, but it didn’t work. We caught up to her.

The second door she tried was locked and the key worked to unlock it. Inside were fresh flowers and huge sign that announced, ‘VANESSA’S ROOM – We all want you’. Every one of us had signed the huge card. She looked back at the rest of us and went in. “OH, GOD, I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH.”

There were also Christmas lights and even a small tree in the room, that looked like it belonged on some TV show about successful decorating. On the bed was a big bow, and another sign that said, ‘Vanessa’s bed. Visitors welcome’. She laughed but her laugh turned into sobbing for joy and happiness.