Chapter 21

At the beginning of the following summer, Lindsay and I were still engaged. Amanda and Ryan had gotten married in a small ceremony between Christmas and New Years. Sean and Shay had been there but Helen had not been invited. I did not explain anything to any of my children, but I guess that Ryan had hinted that I had some credit in revealing the truth about what had happened. I had helped Amanda and Ryan to find a small apartment of their own and they had happily settled in. It had been a stormy day at the end of March when they'd had their little girl, Katy Felicia. Since the day she was born, there was no doubt that Ryan loved her as his own. I was quite happy playing granddaddy. I had called Helen and made it clear to her that she was also a granny, now. Ryan had talked to her, but he had not fully forgiven her, yet.

Mina had broken with her first boyfriend before Christmas and dated some jerks from the college. I tried to talk to her, but for once she would not listen to me, and just muttered something. I had thought that it was too bad, since I had actually liked the guy. She had started working again part-time at the same security company she had worked at in the first place. She would be working there full time, once she had finished her studies for the semester.

I was a bit surprised when Madi called and asked if Lin and I could see her. We agreed to meet her in one of the cafés. When we met, she complained that she was as big as a truck, and walked like a duck. Both Lin and I did our best to convince her that she actually looked good. After some more pleasantries, Madi turned to me.

"John, Mina has a problem, and we need to help her."

"I don't understand. What kind of problem? And why can't she talk about it with me?"

"You know Jess, don't you?"

"Yes, he was her first real boyfriend. I liked him but they broke up."

"Do you know that they are still in love with each other?"

"Then what is the problem? Or is it a problem that they both work in the same office?"

Madi sighed and looked at Lindsay, as if looking for help. I looked at her, too. I noticed that both the women looked a bit uneasy. Lin sighed.

"John, I think it is partly your fault. And mine. And also Kath's and Madi's. And probably Liz's and Carol's, too."

"You two need to explain a bit more, now."

Slowly they started explaining. It seemed that even when Mina wasn't yet sexually active she had been curious and been able to dig out all kinds of information from all my lovers.

"You see, John, she had quite huge expectations of Jess, and I guess also on everybody else. Of course, Jess also screwed it up, when he couldn't handle the attention he suddenly started getting from other girls."

It seemed that Madi had been talking with both of them. Lindsay took my hands in hers.

"I know now that we women made a mistake when we bragged about you and how you could make us feel. I have enough experience to tell that there cannot be many men like you, and that Mina could easily get disappointed."

Madi continued from there.

"I'm quite sure that those two would be very happy together, but poor Jess has had quite a strict upbringing. There's no way that the college girls he is occasionally seeing now, could really shake that away from him."

I looked at both of the women.

"What do you expect me to do to help them? I've been trying to talk to Mina, but it doesn't help."

"Maybe you could talk to Jess?"

"Madi, there is no way that I could talk to some poor shy guy about how he should make love to my daughter!"

Both the ladies blushed and giggled. Then Lindsay asked the question that must have been bothering her.

"John, how did you learn all the things you know now?"

I quickly explained to them that my sister had threatened to kick my ass if I did not treat the girls properly, and then she had introduced me to some of her friends. While talking to them, an idea started to form in my mind.

"Madi, are you absolutely sure that they would end up back together if he got a bit more skill and self-confidence?"

"As sure as I can be."

"Then I'd need you get me in contact with the one person who'll probably know someone who might be able to help. But it may cost me some money."

A week later I was sitting in a different café with Lindsay, and one young-looking policewoman from vice squad, who seemed to remember me all too well.

"Good evening, Officer, or may I call you Elise? I hope you did not have to face any serious issues because of our last meeting."

"No, not very much. Your recording showed that I protested about what they did. The only thing that happened was that they fine-tooth combed all my arrests, but they found nothing. And yes, you can call me Elise. Why did you want to meet me?"

"I need a recommendation from you."

"What kind recommendation am I supposed to be able to give about you?"

"No, Elise, I don't want you to recommend me. I do want you to recommend some real professional who could discreetly help a young man."

It was almost fun to follow the impressions on her young face when I explained to her what I wanted and why. When I finished she shook her head in disbelief.

"Let's see if I've got this straight. You want me to introduce you to a 'professional woman' who could, in a couple of weeks, teach a young innocent guy how to please a woman, so that your daughter would be satisfied with him, correct?"

"It sounds almost rude when you say it like that, Elise."

"It is a rude business, John."

"In some cases, yes. But I'm quite sure that you can admit that the people we are talking about don't all necessarily belong to that category. If you can think of some other way to do it quickly, I'd like to hear it."

During the silence Lindsay also turned to Elise.

"Elise, please. Part of the problem is that there were some stupid women who talked to her, so that her expectations are very much higher than those of most other girls."

Elise sighed and looked at me.

"Why should I do it?"

"I hoped that you would feel some gratitude, as I did not want to cause you any trouble because of my incident."

"Any trouble? ANY trouble! My aunt grilled my ass for two weeks after that, and I should be grateful? Fine, I'll help you; but after this, you'll owe me one!"

A few days later I had a business meeting with an elegant-looking business woman. Lindsay was hanging on my arm all the time, and Madi looked very pregnant. She looked at us with a curious look on her face, but once I had explained her the problem she was almost laughing.

"My God, I truly wish that there were more people like you. I'm quite certain that there would be many more happy marriages, if young ... and even older men ... would know what they are doing, and how they should behave when meeting a lady."

She was a professional. You could have recorded our conversation and all that was discussed, that was in any way a bit suspicious, was the social training of a young gentleman. Otherwise it was a business deal and Madi was there making sure that Jess would meet his social teacher while working. She was sure that she could take it from there. Hell, I was sure about that, too; and the death grip that Lindsay had on my arm confirmed that she was also sure about it. Once the deal was made, everything looked quite legal. Also the IRS got their money, and I became quite a lot poorer.

Our plan worked like a charm - almost. Jess took the bite and he was flying high only after a few days. Mina noticed that, and once she saw the car and woman that came to pick Jess up from work, she became mad as hell. It did not matter that she had a boyfriend of her own. In fact, he dumped her because of her attitude. I couldn't really blame him, either. After two weeks I got a call in the middle of the day, while Lindsay was at work.

"Hi, John. I'd like to talk about our business agreement."

"Hi. Are there some problems?"

The laugh she gave combined with the mental image of her laughing was almost enough to give me a hard on.

"Oh, not at all. In fact I was thinking about a few extra days of teaching, for free. Or would that cause some problems?"

"No, I don't think so. Will there be any problems in ... ending the contract?"

"I don't think so. But I really have to thank you, as this has been very nice two weeks for me, too. I'm quite certain that even if he knows that I was using him, he will be somewhat heartbroken when I leave and start my vacation. I just thought that you might want to know about that."

"That was very thoughtful, thank you."

"No chance that you could join me on my vacation?"

I just had to laugh, since I was sure she knew how her voice made me feel.

"John, I'm hurt! You're laughing at me!"

"Cora, I'm quite sure that you know what kind of influence you have on me. Now I have to start thinking about baseball statistics, once I have cleaned the trace of you calling me."

Now it was her turn to laugh. It did not help me at all.

"Too bad. I think that she is a very lucky lady, even if a bit jealous. Unfortunately there aren't many men who can deal with what I have been doing."

"Cora, you are a fine woman! Don't give up hope."

"And you are a good man, John, bye."

"Bye, Cora."

For a moment, I considered about taking care of things 'by hand'; but I ended up taking a cold shower, instead. I was quite sure that Lindsay would be happy this evening!

As it had been Madi who had started playing Cupid, it was only right that she also finished it. It was a bit more than a week before her calculated time when her water broke while she was visiting her office. Of course, it turned out that Mina and Jess were the ones who drove her to the hospital, and stayed there until Kath got there. It turned out that Mina and Jess went out together after that.

The following day, Lindsay and I visited the hospital to congratulate a beaming if tired Madi. Kath also looked so happy that it was almost unbelievable. That was moment when I was sure that I had made the right decision, and that their daughter would get all the love she could possibly need.

To me it seemed that I had gotten a new daughter, anyhow, since Danielle had informally adopted me; even though Lindsay and I were not married, and had not even seriously discussed a date. So it was that I occasionally drove her to her soccer practice and games. One Saturday she was supposed to have a game, but due to some misunderstanding, the game was canceled. Dani had been anticipating the game, and was clearly disappointed. I let her into my apartment and allowed her to start watching a movie she liked. I then decided to visit Lindsay, and ask her if she wanted to join us.

I certainly was not prepared to see what I saw when I went to see Lindsay. She was lying on the bed with her legs spread and Elise was lapping her pussy as though there was no tomorrow. I just stood there for a moment, before I slowly turned to leave. I went back through the door and closed it as silently as I could. Only then was I able to breath again. But even the breathing felt difficult, because of the pain in my chest and stomach. I only wondered what I had done wrong this time. It seemed that for whatever the reason, I wasn't enough for Lindsay. Or maybe she just found her inner lesbian self with Elise. Since I had already experienced this before, I should not be feeling this badly; but somehow, this felt even worse.

My mind was numb, and I wasn't able to form a coherent thought before I found myself back inside my own apartment. Then I thought about how I had declined the offer Cora had given to me. Maybe she would have been honest with me. I felt sad for myself. On the other hand, I was angry with myself for getting into a situation like this. All of a sudden I was brought back to reality.

"Did you forget something, Dad? I thought that you would probably spend some time with Mom."

I was just about to snap at her that her mom had decided to spend some time with someone else! Instead, when the meaning of her words fully sank in, it was like a slap to my face. She saw me as her new dad. I forced myself to smile to her.

"Yes, I was just checking if you're okay here."

"Don't worry, Dad, I promise that I won't look at anything unsuitable. I can even make some breakfast for myself. I already have some clothes and a toothbrush here."

She giggled after that, when I retreated back to the front door. I took a deep breath and considered my options. I had thought that I had a family again but I wasn't totally sure, anymore. I felt that I owed it to Dani to at least check on where I stood. After a moment, I was back at Lindsay's apartment.

Once again I tried to open and close the door as silently as I could. It seemed that I wasn't fast or silent enough, since as soon as I turned around I felt a sharp pain in my chest and my body went all rigid. That feeling went on and on, even though I was now lying on the floor.

At some point, the immediate pain stopped but my muscles still refused to co-operate when I was dragged to the bedroom. Lindsay and Elise were arguing about something, but before I could really do anything I was handcuffed and tied to the bed – the same bed where the ladies just entertained themselves. Instead of looking at them I closed my eyes. That part of my body I could still control.