Chapter 73: Babies

I was here in Cuba to pick up the last passengers. Gigziks had already delivered the twenty-seven hacienda girls. We were here for the four security guys plus Carmen the Illegitimate. Gigziks had already begun processing them into concubines and giving them the additional language skills.

Elmont and Lola had some surprises for me.

Elmont had located two experienced cigar rollers who wanted to move to New England. Lola had also found three Spanish women, plus a gypsy, and a Filipina of all things. Where had she come from?

I called up Gigziks, “What gives with the Filipina? Is this your attempt at a plant?”

Gigziks said, “Of course it is. We all saw you fully embrace Filipino food in Hawaii. You know you love the food. We also saw you fall like a rock for Willow ... So we figured we would try. At least interview her. If she works out, we will overlay her with Jenny Alba’s culinary skills.”

I said, “The gypsy, is she yours too?”

Gigziks said, “No, a large number of gypsy’s settled in Spain in past years. She was enticed to come to Cuba and did not like the working conditions offered.”

I asked, “Were the two cigar rolling experts on your radar?”

Gigziks replied, “No. They need employment elsewhere. They have female troubles here in Cuba and are escaping a church priest and unwanted marriages to horrible wives.”

I said, “Any plans for them?”

She said, “English overlay and loyalty concubinage, of course. They will be experienced workers for Gloria. She can make use of them.”

I said, “I would prefer that everyone think they spent several days at sea. I don’t want to actually do that.”

Gigziks said, “Are you sure. You have a batch of women and some ready-made fishing buddies.”

I grumbled, “I’ll take that under advisement. I’ll let you know. After conking Carmen the Illegitimate, leave her in my cabin. Let the others sleep.”

I had the boat’s AI, Pez Volador, set sail for Virginia immediately. I spent the first half day with Carmen. She soon became my concubine, and we briefly discussed her duties. She understood the extra males we captured were her concubines. They are protectors for the Taino females at Henson Cigars. She would be another supervisor who reported directly to Gloria.

We woke the others up, and we fished and sailed our way up to Suffolk, Virginia. I would turn most of them over to Gloria.

I spent the next two days at my William and Mary Town, place. I had a lot of needy women there wanting my time. I spread a lot of love around.

The next day, I checked in with Aimee Mathews on the headquarters project. It was making good progress. I learned Aimee was still evaluating people across all four businesses.

I handed over the Filipina, Trinity Cuevas, to my two cooks. She would make Filipino food when I was home. We had a lot of people in the house now, so an extra cook was a welcome addition. She was already programmed with my mother, Jenny Alba’s cooking knowledge.

I was sitting on the back porch when I realized I had done nothing to find a new gardener all these months. It had been a year and a half now. The backyard was different in many ways. It ends at the back with a thick forest that is an extension of my property.

The original owner ensured the views he had would be permanent. But the garden was completely renewed now. It acted like a privacy fence, as well as looking like the best English-style garden you’ve ever seen. The only answer was that in my negligence. The Heillizdt had obviously taken over the gardening job. I walked the garden with a second pipe-load of Triple Threat and just took it all in.

Disney couldn’t have done a better job with the garden. I realized in the back of my mind that I had not wanted a new gardener. A teenage boy with an adult gardener? Hell no! These are all MY chickens, and there is no room in my personal henhouse for a competing rooster. The women had not asked about a gardener for a long time.

This came home in a rush when I thought about what the Heillizdt had done at Lortan Childress’s place. They had put in a tall gazebo affair to add on rooms at his place. They had given him water features, bridges, and the works.

What I had here was every bit as good. It has an excellent English Garden vibe. The King and Queen would approve of this garden.

This year and last, Virginia has seen very little snow. In its place was a lot of fall and spring rain. It’s close to the Gulf Stream. I checked online at home and found that this area sometimes gets snow, yet it rarely sticks around for more than a week to ten days.

I got a cigar out and trimmed the end, and lit it up. My current pipe had gotten too soggy at the bottom to be enjoyable. Two loads are as far as I go without letting a pipe rest for at least a week.

This cigar is an experiment, and I love it. It is bourbon and vanilla-infused.

We had done so well with our chewable-flavored cigars that we considered an upscale flavored cigar. Something intended for a more sophisticated smoker.

Nine out of ten tries had been a bust, tasting simply horrible. Things with cherry or vanilla went best when a small touch of liquor was added. The secret was using the right amount of flavoring so it did not overpower the quality tobacco.