Chapter 5

I saw a problem, and voiced my concern.

“Do we want her to be seen in town, and her boyfriend be able to locate her? Why not take down and note all her measurements then you girls go to the shop and arrange to borrow all the clothes that might fit her; take them back here and have her select which items she wants, then return the remainder and we can pay for what she keeps?” I had heard that this was possible for known locals. I hoped I was right.

Jenny agreed that keeping her out of sight was the priority, and went to inform Phyllis and Linda before heading to the toilet. In the kitchen where Phyllis was making coffee, Linda suggested to Phyllis that she could go back to the shop with Elizabeth’s sizes and check the rails, as she herself had done a similar exercise recently, and would be recognised as a past customer.

“Good thinking, Linda,” said Phyllis.

Linda smiled at her. “Any way I can help this family, Phyllis, I will be delighted to help. I feel so much part of Bob’s family now, that I have to do what I can to play my part in it.”

“Lovely to hear that, Linda. What do you think of Elizabeth?”

“First sight, I was more worried for her with that abuser, but now I just want to help her, yet I have never met her before.”

“Interesting. That is how I see her as well; as a friend who needs assistance. Most unusual. I must ask Jenny.”

“Must ask me what?” said Jenny, walking into the kitchen, still straightening her dress.

“About the new girl, Elizabeth. How do you see her?”

Jenny wrinkled her nose and murmured, “Hmm ... curious, that. For some obscure reason, I almost envisage her as one of us. I wonder why?”

Linda offered, “You took me in as needing help. Elizabeth fits into the same category, so maybe that is why?”

“Yes, but it is more than that,” Jenny posited. “You don’t usually accept a stranger so willingly, just a short while after meeting her. There must be more. Let’s ask Bob for his opinion.”

Phyllis picked up the tray of coffee mugs, and Linda collected the coffee jug and milk, and then they walked through to where I was reading quietly.

“Bob?” Phyllis disturbed my reading. “Can we have a word?”

I put my bookmark in my place and laid down the book. “Sure, Phyllis. Anything for my three loves.”

“That’s just it, darling. We all have a sort of odd feeling about Elizabeth.”

“Really? An odd feeling? What sort of feeling? Disturbed? Want to get rid of her or something?”

“Just the opposite, my love. Elizabeth, despite having just arrived, seems to be ... difficult to say exactly, but she seems to be like a square peg meeting a square hole. All three of us get this vibe of her being with us for more than just a quick rescue.”

“Ah...” I uttered the fateful words. “You mean she sounds like one of you girls?”

Jenny came in with, “Not exactly, or not exactly yet, but heading in that direction, dear heart. I get the impression that she is a possible addition to the family.”

“That is very sudden, Jenny,” I exclaimed. “I wouldn’t want to add anyone to the family without you girls first granting your approval. I am extremely happy with you girls as it is, and I would not envision seeking another girl without your say-so. Your opinion is valuable and I would not do anything that would damage our loving relationship.”

“That’s what makes you so lovable, Bob: your concern for what we want, and not what you want. It is an admirable trait in a man.”

“Thank you, Jenny. That makes me happy. In fact, I have never in my life been so happy as when I met you two, and with Linda as well, I thought we were complete. You think that Elizabeth was meant for us, as well?”

Linda interjected, “Can I say something?”

“Of course, Linda,” said Phyllis. You are one of us, so you get a say.”

“Then what I would say is, there is something funny about us all. Do you see that. Bob dear?”

“Certainly I do, but it all boils down to a bit of magic, courtesy of a strange being I met on the hillside. He, she, or it, decided I needed mates in my life, long term. That’s the word it used: mates. To me, you are spouses, but to it, you are mates, sexual and emotional partners with me. I thought it was referring to Phyllis and Jenny, but it seems to have meant more by the plural word; not just two. Linda appeared, and decided that she belonged with us. I had no objection, as long as Phyllis and Jenny agreed. That is what I told the being; that you girls had to be agreeable to any new addition for it to work.

Now, Linda, do you still want to be part of this peculiar family, knowing all this?”

Linda peered into my eyes, seeking truth and finding it.

“By God, you are telling the truth! It actually makes sense in a weird way, but I am still okay with being part of this extended family. Are you implying that Elizabeth is probably going to be another ‘mate’?”

I shrugged. “It is not up to me, my love. I am extremely fulfilled with what I have, so it a matter for you girls to decide whether she would fit our lifestyle or not. Will she also find herself in love with me, and me with her – which is what happened with you three. I fell in love as much as you did. We were all manipulated by this ‘magic’ that I think you could call it. More to the point, are you happy with your lot, your new place with us?”

Linda’s face lit up. “By God, am I happy! I feel wonderful, loving you and sharing you with Phyllis and Jenny. We are all deliriously happy, to put it mildly. You give us our place alongside you, you are never nasty to us, and you give us your undying love, and marvellous sex to go with it. So I am pleased to go along with it, magic or not.”

I asked her, “And Elizabeth? What of her? What is your estimation?”

Linda swung her head to check with Phyllis and Jenny.

“I defer to my elders in this matter. What do you feel, Phyllis, Jenny? What is Elizabeth to us, or is it too early to say?”

Phyllis and Jenny were dumbfounded by what I had just described. They both gazed at me in shock.

“This is true, Bob dear?” asked Phyllis.

“Most certainly, Phyllis my love. Do you find it distressing?”

“Do I hell! It simply gives me knowledge about how we all fell in love with each other. I don’t care a damn about the process, for I am ecstatically pleased that it happened, and I am looking forward to our future together. So is Jenny, I think, from what she has been saying. Linda you already know has the same reaction. As for Elizabeth, we’ll see.”

I asked, “Where is Elizabeth, anyway?”

“Bed,” explained Phyllis. “The poor girl was mentally exhausted, so I decided that sleep was the best medicine for that. She was asleep within a couple of minutes, so I think Doctor Phil had the correct remedy.”

I chuckled, “You usually do have the best answers, Phyllis; one of the things I love about you.”

Phyllis was not finished. She kissed me to show her reaction, then spoke.

“However, I do not believe in magic, so the solution has to be something different, but still almost impossible, for as Linda says, such a sudden affliction is odd, funny peculiar. She decided that you were telling the truth, but the word may not be magic as you called it, yet something we might have trouble accepting with any other word. Care to try me, Bob?”

I sighed. “Then the answer I have for you is even weirder than magic. It is a form of mind to mind transmission of what you might consider an app, as in computer jargon. It came from an alien machine with a downloaded mind aboard that wanted to learn about this planet. I gave it a load of information for it to make what it can from Earth’s facts. In return it decided, all on its own, to reward me with mates for my future life. I didn’t ask for this bonus, but received it just the same. Once I had experienced the instant love between me and you and Jenny, I saw no point in trying to object, for I saw nothing about you girls to object to; nothing. Indeed the converse was true. You are both wonderful women, perfect partners.

The remainder is as before. I thought the reference to ‘mates’ meant you two lovely girls, but it turns out to mean more than just you two. Linda showed up and proved that my assumption was incorrect, and she was quickly absorbed into our family.

At my final mental meeting with the alien I insisted that any possible addition had to have your full support, or she would be inadmissible. I told it that, to show that my commitment to you girls was strong enough to leave you with a veto if you thought it necessary.

There you have it; take it or leave it as an explanation.”

I realised that Jenny and Linda were just as dumbfounded, as they just stared at me and Phyllis, lost for words.

Phyllis at last smiled at me and announced her own conclusion. “That explains your sudden ability to speed read. We heard about your exploits at the library. This is the alien giving you that ability, I think. Is it permanent?”

I gasped, “Damn! I don’t know, I didn’t ask. If it is, then it will be great for reading legal contracts in business deals. It is often the small print that has the real business hazards for you.”

“Oh, I suppose so,” said Phyllis. “I was thinking of it as one of the ways the alien was gathering facts from you. It got you to collect plenty of data as fast as possible, so it could pick it from your brain and store it in its data banks. I expect it will be gone now for good, leaving us to work things out for ourselves.”

Then she thought more about what she had just concluded, and smiled a little. “Perhaps that may not be so bad,” she wondered. “We are happy as we now are. I don’t see any problem sharing you, as long as I get as much loving from you as I want. That is more than I ever got from my former boyfriend. He was in it for what he could get from me; a far cry from what we have with you, Bob.”

“That’s nice of you to say so, Phyllis my darling,” I acknowledged. “Happiness shared is happiness expanded, from what I can see. Love shared is love growing is another way of saying that.”

“How nice, Bob,” declared Phyllis. “However it all came to pass, it is a wonderful event that we can enjoy for years to come. Jenny and Linda will agree with my sentiment, I am certain.”

“Great,” I expressed my pleasure, “but what about this new girl, Elizabeth?”

Phyllis squinted at me quizzically. “What is your own personal feeling, Bob? Do you envision her as another spouse for you, or just a woman who passes in the night in a few days?”

“Hmm...” I tried to avoid committing myself. “I have been staying out of the line of fire while you girls looked after her. I can’t offer a viewpoint until I get to have a decent conversation with her. Only then will I be able to see if there is a spark caused by the alien’s involvement, or accept her as a waif in need of solace and then be released when stable.”

Jenny ventured a quick glance at Linda, then said to me, “I have a feeling that she may be another fit with us, Bob. We can speak with her once she is awake again. That might be the time to introduce her to you as a person of interest, instead of just the man at the door, the owner of the house, when she arrived with the policeman.”

Linda put in, “Far be it for me to suggest anything, being new myself, but may I mention that I think I can get along with her on the long term, on the basis of how we got along these first few hours.”

Jenny came back with, “Me too, but more important will be her reaction to Bob. If she and Bob don’t click, there is no point to her staying more than a short time with us. Her permanent presence must depend on whether she falls in love with Bob as we did.”

I saw what she meant, and gave it my blessing.

“I agree. Wait and see how she reacts to me with more propinquity. That will soon make her reaction clear, and we can proceed from there. More importantly, who is sleeping with me tonight?”

Phyllis sighed. “Jenny. I am sorry it isn’t me, but we can’t all have you at the one time. I am down for tomorrow.”

Linda grimaced, “I know, but I am happy to get Bob once or twice a week. Perhaps we can catch a quick bout of loving during the day sometime?”

I left the girls to debate that option, and switched my thought to supper.

Next morning I was awakened early with the sounds of a woman clattering in the kitchen. It was only seven a.m. and Phyllis was snoring softly beside me. I got up cautiously and headed to the kitchen and found Elizabeth, wrapped in a bathrobe, trying to find her way around the kitchen.

“Hello, Elizabeth,” I greeted here. “Need a hand in finding things?”

“Oh, good morning, mister Jenkins. Thank you for the offer. I was wondering where you keep the cereal boxes.”

“They are in the bottom left hand cupboard over there. We don’t use much cereal, apart from porridge oats. Mostly we do a cooked breakfast; certainly I do if I am preparing breakfast for us. Do you really fancy cereal, or was it just the simplest choice with no-one else up and about?”

“It was the easy option, I admit. I had no idea where all the ingredients were – frying pan, cooking oil, eggs, and whatever else you put into a cooked breakfast here.”

“We usually have some Lorne sausage in the fridge, some bacon rashers perhaps but that is usually in the freezer. We have packs of hash browns in the freezer too, as well as potato wedges, but sometimes we have leftover mashed potato or potato slices that we can fry up. It all depends on what the girls fancy of a morning. Mostly they are not too worried about their waistlines, if they are getting plenty of exercise, and I try to make sure they get that exercise.”

It was only after I spoke that I recognised the double entendre in it. Fortunately it slipped past Elizabeth.

“Oh, I see. The girls were all very nice to me yesterday, I have to say, but when they persuaded me to go to bed early, I just flaked out quickly. That is why I am up so early today. It is not my normal sleeping pattern. Are my eyes looking improved today?”

“Gosh, I forgot to look! Let me see your face, Elizabeth.”

I examined her face around the eyes, and the bruising had subsided to less obvious colours.

“Definitely better than yesterday,” I announced. “A few more days and you will be back to your normal good-looking self.”

She dimpled. “Oh, Mister Jenkins, what a nice thing to say. The girls tell me that you are very nice to them. I was not too clear about your relationship to them.”

“Oh, it is very simple. They all love me, and want to be my spouses, so we act on that intention. Getting married is too formal and restricting, we find.”