Chapter 12: Vermont

After reluctantly leaving Jessie’s home in Rochester, Dave meandered east across New York State. He had one particular destination in mind in the small town of Oneida – touring the Mansion House that had housed the most famous polyamorous communities in the world in starting in 1848 and that remained a symbol of one. Of course, the silverware that the community also produced went on to become some of the most revered, as well, but for Dave or anybody in the Circle, this place was noteworthy.

After touring the old house and grounds that had been home to three-hundred people that for over fifty years had been a community not unlike the Circle, Dave headed northeast towards Vermont. He thought about how each generation or two had their outliers, and he felt glad to be among the current novel thinkers. He’d taken lots of pictures, and sent a few post cards home.

Dave wove north and then through the Adirondacks along one of the few roads through the territory. The place was full of cabins and camps, mostly on small lakes or ponds, as well as many tourist rentals, all looking for occupants. Dave went up to Port Kent by way of Lake Placid, even staying overnight in the quaint resort town.

During his trip through the Adirondacks he did camp out in two spots, and made full use of his equipment and the various meals he’d packed back in Florida. In Lake Placid, he found a sport shop and replenished part of his food supply. There weren’t any Niagara Marriott’s in this part of the country.

At Port Kent, he took a ferry across Lake Champlain, arriving in Burlington, Vermont, just at the lunch hour. On the short ride, he instantly noticed three young, college-age women who were together. They were very cute and they made eye contact on the ferry ride and smiled at each other. After docking Dave followed their car off the boat.

Dave spotted a busy restaurant named Shanty on the Shore only a few hundred feet from the ferry slip. He pulled into a space and parked and then went inside and upstairs to the upper deck where he could look out over the marina and ferry port. He got the last table on the outside deck under one of the blue sun umbrellas. The day was perfect for eating outside – sunny, warm, and barely a breeze off of the large lake.

A waitress quickly gave him a menu and a ‘be right back’ promise. Almost immediately, one of the girls from the boat appeared at Dave’s side, obviously looking as fetching as she could. She flashed him a wide smile.

“Sir, you have three empty chairs at your table. Would you mind if the three of us joined you? We wanted to eat out here and not inside because it’s so nice out here.” She gestured at the view and the sky, but kept her winning smile.

Dave teased, “And, you are?”

“Tracy. Tracy Swanson. My friends are C.K. and Ahleah. We’re from Philadelphia, just prowling around New England for a week before we have to go back to work. We work together at the local branch of Charles Schwab. We’re behind the scenes people who analyze companies and their valuations.” She was obviously very proud of the three of them.

Dave nodded and turned to the others and gestured. “I would be delighted to have three gorgeous women join me. This appears to be my lucky day – two blondes and a very pretty brunette, and I’m Dave.” The other two women arrived behind Tracy.

“I’m C.K., and were it not for hair dye, I’d also be a brunette.” She laughed and added, “The carpet doesn’t match the drapes.” She laughed harder.

“I’m Ahleah, pronounced Ah-lee-ah, and she’s always like that. I guess we all are but hold it in. She’s often the bold one of us, even at work.”

As the three sat, the waitress reappeared with more menus and took everybody’s drink order. Dave indicated subtly that he was paying. He wanted the company and for the four days since he’d left Jessie in Rochester, he’d been questing after some feminine companionship.

C.K. asked, “Excuse me, but are you ... errr, on television? I watch a show called The Circle, and you look a lot like a man they feature on the show.”

Dave bowed slightly. “I get that a lot. What do you think of that show and the Circle?”

C.K. feigned a little swoon, “I think it’s the coolest place on earth, if it’s real. It’s this large polyamorous community and everybody loves everybody else. There’s a lot of sex, but the show sometimes tries to hide that. I think that partial nudity is the style of dress for most of the women when they’re outside on their patio. It takes place in Florida.”

Ahleah chimed in, “I like the idea of a place like that, but it’s kind of scary. I think there are just under two-hundred people in the Circle – all different ages, yet people don’t pay much attention to age or anything. There are people from different races, too.” She giggled, “Most of the guys are really hot.”

“How old is the oldest person there?” Dave asked as he tested how much attention to the show they’d been paying.

“Well, they showed one couple in their mid-sixties I think, and they just bought a huge, modern RV and left the Circle to tour around the country. I haven’t noticed anybody older. One episode of TV show focused on them, their mobile home, and all the gadgets in it.”

“What about the philosophy of the Circle? Is it just a bunch of swingers?”

Tracy frowned, “I watch, too, but I don’t think that’s the right emphasis. The sex appears a lot of fun, especially at their weekend parties or their theme parties like Halloween, but what everyone seems to be emphasizing are their loving relationships. No one that I heard used the ‘F’ word; they talk about making love.”

C.K. said, “They hold a class for people thinking about joining that the guy that looks like you conducts; it’s called Circle 101 – like a college course name. They use a book by Cricket, one of his wives, too. In the class, they spent one episode about a year ago talking about consensual non-monogamy. They have repeated many times, ‘consenting adults can do what they want about sex’, and they mean it. Relationships, too. There are all kinds of arrangements in the Circle, and even though people are married or living together, they still make love to all the other people.”

Dave teased a little more, “And I bet that guy led discussions about service to the Circle, jealousy, love, commitment, living in a social collective, fluid relationships, spirituality in relationships, not being possessive or controlling, keep drama out of one’s life, and more.”

The three girls gawked at him across the table.

C.K. finally said, “You’re him, right?”

“Dave Prentiss, at your service.”

Ahleah said, “I joined the Circle fan club just so I could attend their meet-up in Chicago in October. I wanted to hear you speak – and Cricket and maybe a few others. I’m not sure I’ll be able to get away from work though.”

The others said they had, too. C.K. said, “That was how we each got copies of Cricket’s book; by joining. We’ve read the books, too; just before we left for this holiday week.”

Tracy, one of the pretty blondes with beautiful high cheekbones, said, “The Circle is in Sarasota. What are you doing up here?”

Dave pointed off the wooden deck at where his motorcycle was parked loaded with all his camping gear. “I’m touring around the eastern half of the country, meeting interesting people like all of you. I’ve ridden up here from seeing Niagara Falls and the Oneida Community.”

Their heads all nodded. About then the waitress came and wanted their orders. Since Dave had been eating camp food, mostly freeze dried, he ordered the salmon dinner. The girls got simpler things, all based around salads.

No one was shy about asking questions, especially after they remembered that he had ten wives. Dave let it be known that in addition to one being a writer, and another a movie star, he also had another who was a business executive and a porn star of note. That revelation alone provoked another whole series of questions that often focused on loosening up and then on his commitment to all the women in the Circle.

The three women seemed especially enthralled about Alice Angel and the Circle-X Productions business. Circle-X had been briefly mentioned as an adult entertainment business in season two, but the explicit nature of their productions or exactly who and how the films were done had been purposely omitted by Spring Garden Productions. Dave filled in the missing pieces of that puzzle.

Lunch took forever, and required several breaks to use the restaurant’s bathroom for each of them. Dave eventually turned the table on each of the women and got them talking about their work, and how they met.

The three of them were all twenty-seven years old. C.K. and Ahleah met in college at the University of Pennsylvania. They decided to work together since they had so many shared interests, and they met Tracy at Schwab on their first day at work. The three had decided to room together, so they not only worked together, they roomed together.

Dave said cautiously, “You sound like a love affair.”

Tracy said slowly, “We are. We really love each other ... just like the women in the Circle.” She smiled.

“So, no boyfriends?”

“Oh, we’d love to find boyfriends, but we are not of a mind to be tied down – ever. The Circle TV show and the book really crystalized some things for me – I guess for all of us. None of us want to be possessed like some chattel, be someone’s only source of sustenance, or lose our sense of independence. I think we are in many ways like the Circle women.”

Dave said in a half-teasing tone, “You should come and stay with us for a while. There are even Schwab offices nearby. You should also transfer there and join the Circle.”

The three studied him. C.K. said, “Really? What you don’t know is that at the drop of hat, we would do exactly that.”

“What about the hypersexuality?”

C.K. laughed again, “As I said, at the drop of a hat, we would do exactly that.”

“Consider this an invitation. If you wait until I’m back in Sarasota – maybe in a couple of months – I can even be your host, but that’s not necessary. If you want, I just happen to know some people that work in investments that you could talk to if you were serious about relocating. If you want to go sooner, I’ll tee it up for you with one of my friends.”

“Shit, YES!” Tracy just about yelled. Fortunately, many of the other diners had left after their meal but those that were there looked at the group. “We’d move in a second – next week, even.”

A few minutes later, Dave observed that it was four o’clock, and that he wanted to be sure he had a good room at the local Hilton. As usual, he wanted to spoil himself with a room that looked out at pretty scenery, in this case Lake Champlain and the park between the road the hotel was on and the small municipal marina.

Dave paid the bill, and was chastised by the three women for having cut a deal with the waitress to give him the entire bill for the table. Dave waved them off, telling them he’d been without feminine companionship for so long that just being their presence was an honor and delight. He didn’t tell them it had only been three days since he left Jessie.

C.K. said, “Can we come with you? We’ll get a room, too. We were going to stay around Burlington somewhere. I bet we only have a million questions left to ask you.”

Dave led the way less than a half-mile from the Shanty restaurant to the Hilton. They parked in front temporarily while they went in a got rooms. C.K. was selected as the procurer of the room for the girls. She in turn suggested that they get two rooms that connected so that we could continue talking and enjoying each other’s company.

Dave upgraded all of them to a suite. C.K. choked when she realized the cost, but Dave again waved her concern aside. He said, “You buy me a drink in the hotel lounge come cocktail hour, and we’ll call it even.”