Chapter 20: Jumping in the Deep End

Dave slipped out of work early, taking Nancy with him. They’d carpooled from the Circle anyway. They got home right at five p.m. They both put on casual clothes, and then headed towards the core. Nancy had brought several sets of clothing to Dave and Alice’s house from her apartment over the weekend.

A circle of new friends had already gathered in the core: Aaron, Shelby, Mike, Clarisse, Kat, Owen, Holly, Heather, and Matthew. There was a comfortable round of hugs and kisses from each of folks with the new arrivals. Matthew came and sat in David’s lap and told him about his day care ‘class’ and what he’d learned. He could now count to fifty and he demonstrated that to everyone’s amusement despite getting confused around thirty-five. He also knew a few basic arithmetic skills, providing he had enough fingers involved.

Dave quizzed him on one plus one, two plus one, and a few other problems that got up to ten as the answer. Matthew ran out of steam about them because he ran out of fingers. “I need to go and play in the wading pool, now. Hug!” Dave gave him a hug, and set him down. Matthew ran off about twenty feet and jumped into the wading pool, a skill he’d obviously perfected. Heather didn’t look worried at all, but was watching him.

Aaron said, “Having Matthew around, kind of puts a crimp in the sexy activities, doesn’t it?”

Dave shook his head; “Matthew is a rehearsal for the incoming flood of children that will arrive in the near future.”

“Is somebody pregnant?” Aaron asked.

“Not to my knowledge, BUT we have many women whose biological clocks are about to chime midnight. I really think that a year from now we’ll have some babies in our midst, and a year after that still more. What are you and Shelby planning?”

“All we’ve said is ‘In the future’ sometime. She’s twenty-seven and I’m twenty-nine, so we have a lot of time.”

“Beware of the peer pressure when a lot of these women start hatchlings. Do you have a career goal or monetary goal before you undertake children?”

“Kind of both. We want better jobs than what we have, and a better and larger home.”

Quick as a flash, Owen asked, “What do you do?”

Aaron replied, “I’m a financial analyst for a company named Barber, Reid, and Fleet. The staff shorten the name and call them BARF,” he laughed. “The company does accounting, tax work, and financial consulting for individual clients and small businesses up to around fifty employees. I work in all sectors of the business depending on time of year and need for good utility outfielder. I have a CFA, too.”

“Shelby, what do you do?”

“I’m marketing rep for a Canadian pharmaceutical’s company named Celude. I travel around my territory up north visiting doctors’ offices and making them aware of the pharmacological products we make and how reasonably priced they are compared to their American counterparts. There are import restrictions in the U.S., but in spite of those I still earn my keep and make a pile of money for the company off my territory.”

Owen nodded, but Dave saw that twinkle in his eye that made him certain that something life changing would be said later to the couple by the billionaire. He didn’t think that Aaron and Shelby had taken in that Owen was special in that way.

Julie came in from her work at the Bennett Foundation, hugged Owen – her erstwhile employer, and said ‘Hi, boss,’ but the implication of what she’d said passed by the newbies unnoticed. After kisses, she went off to change – or undress. The other men and women in the Circle arrived home soon, thereafter

Holly and Shelby had started a large roast for dinner several hours earlier, and then prepared most of the trimmings and side dishes. Sean went and carved up the large parcel of beef using the industrial meat slicer, and soon the buffet was laid out and dinner began.

Owen had slipped away, but came back a few minutes after dinner started and got his plate. He found a seat across from Dave, next to Shelby, and across from Aaron. About halfway through the meal, Owen asked, “Aaron are you really married to your current job at ... BARF?” He chuckled.

“No. I joined them right out of college. I didn’t think I’d stay this long. I feel like I’m running along in a low gear waiting for the company to come to life and need the other skills that I have, such as computer systems, software development, long range and strategic planning, financial analysis and consulting, and more. I think I could be much more useful to them if they were a more dynamic company.”

Owen muttered, “Some other people think that, too.” He glanced at Julie and winked. She’d apparently brought him some news from his office because even after getting home she’d again gone off on a mission for him.

Aaron said, “Huh?” but Owen let the question slide by unanswered.

A little later, Owen asked Shelby, “Have you ever thought of living in this part of the country?”

Shelby waxed eloquent about the area, and even about the cohousing project. “I’d love to find something just like this someplace. Further, there are three times as many doctors here in the Sun Belt as there are up where we live, and imagine this; here we are at the end of February and we’re sitting around in the evening in shorts and shirtsleeves after having been swimming. At home, they had a foot of snow today. Ughhh!” She hugged herself at the thought of the cold weather; her beautiful breasts bulged out over the top of her arms, giving the guys an eye full.”

Aaron raised the pregnancy issue again with Alice this time, “What will each of you do when you want to become pregnant, drop out of the sexual activities?”

Alice smiled, “Why? Do you want to knock me up? You were sure trying last night.”

Owen and several others laughed.

Aaron continued, “I was just curious what the thinking in the Circle would be about that.”

“We’re kind of divided, but all decisions haven’t been made. I definitely want Dave’s baby, so I’ll insist on condoms on the other men once I go off birth control until I’m actually preggers. Around my period, I might chance it bareback, because the sex is so much better. A couple of the other women will just come off of birth control and see what happens.”

“You mean any of the men might get them pregnant?” There was tone of disbelief in his voice.

“Right. They’re concern and their husband’s isn’t about paternity; it’s about having a healthy baby. Everybody in the Circle loves each other, so they don’t consider they’re doing anything wrong. Heather is an example, although she had Matthew before she came to the Circle. We all love her and Matthew as though he were our own child.”

Aaron probed, “How would you have thought about this before you loosened up?”

Alice replied, “Heather would have been labeled a slut for having sinned by having intercourse outside of marriage. Her child would have been God’s way to permanently shame her with a constant reminder of her sin. She would have wallowed in the troubles she caused herself, never being able to pull herself out of working at the Club Ecstasy as a stripper or being an occasional call girl or porn star. I would have seen it as justified supreme judgments from on high.”

“And now,” Aaron laughed.

“I ate your cum out of her pussy last night because I love you and I love Heather. I’m glad we’ve kind of adopted Matthew; he’s a delight. The love she’s found in our Circle has brought Heather a new life and given her a career track she’s excited about. She’s far from lonely, and she makes each of our lives better, and we’re sure to tell her that. We love her.”

Holly left the conversation and went to the kiddie wading pool. She engaged Matthew in conversation, and soon the two were building a tower of beach toys beside the wading pool.

Holly came back to the group and asked Heather, “Can Matthew swim?”

“Not well. He has floaties that go on his arms to help him.”

“May I teach him in the big pool?”

“Have at it. He’ll love the attention. A caution, however; he sinks.” Heather chuckled and made a downward gesture with her hand.

Matthew was truly enthused that Holly would take him into the big pool, even if it were just the shallow end. The water was still over his head.

Holly waded into the pool in her shorts and blouse without changing, providing a lot of support for her ward. She told him, “The first thing to learn about swimming is how to float.” She started to demonstrate and coach him about having air in his lungs to help him stay up, and then helped him practice.

Holly and Matthew spent about a half-hour on his lesson, before she lifted him out and onto the side of the pool.

Heather had been watching the pair. “You’re really good with kids and teaching.”

Holly said, “When I was in high school and early college my summer jobs were at a pool at a golf club. The moms would drop off their kids, who couldn’t swim mind you, and I was supposed to babysit them for four hours while they had a round of golf. I also was to keep them from drowning. I learned how to teach swimming as self-preservation in a way. Never lost a kid ... yet.” She laughed.

She went on, “Matthew is right on the edge. If I can spend a half-hour with him each day this week, he’ll be swimming completely on his own by the weekend. After that, they just get better and better at it on their own. They’re like baby ducks.”

“I think you just got yourself a job. The pay is pretty lousy, though.”

Holly grinned, “Oh, I think I’ll find some way to extract my due from you. Maybe you’ll let me clean you up after Dave has made love to you.”

Heather grinned. “Now, how could I turn down an offer like that?”

Late Friday afternoon, when most people had returned home to the Circle, Holly announced a demonstration at the pool. Everybody got their drinks of choice, and filed outside to the large pool they all shared.

Matthew was standing beside the pool with a grin as large as the Grand Canyon on his face. He was at the deep end of the pool and not wearing any flotation gear.

Holly grinned as well and said, “Matthew, show everybody what you learned this week.”

Matthew took a running jump into the deep end of the pool. His mother was standing nearby watching him. He bubbled up to the surface and started a solid doggie paddle towards the shallow end. When he reached the pool wall at the far end of the pool, he turned around and swam back to the deep end. Upon reaching the side, he hefted himself out of the pool. Dripping wet, he turned and bowed to everyone as they applauded. He yelled, “I CAN SWIM! NO FLOATIES!”